How Can I not Love You
by Big-Purple-Lizard
Summary: AU: After a shakey beginning, Tidus and Yuna finally get together. But both have pasts they arent proud of, and now that Shuyin is in the picture, what will it take to keep them together? YxT, RxG PxB. R for sex scenes, some violence and language.
1. The story begins

_A/N: Ok, a note from me... I was having MASSIVE writters block on my other story so I thought I would write some mindless AU dribble to get the juices flowing again. So yeah, this is it. Basically all you need to know is that its AU. And I dont own any FF right or whatever. But I think everyone knows this. Neways read on and review, its great to get them!!_

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**.:HOW CAN I NOT LOVE YOU?:.**

The TV buzzed but no sound came from it. I had been muted for about 4 hours. Yuna sat cross-legged on her bed in her pajamas. She had an old notebook and she was scribbling furiously in it. Then in a huff she threw it to the floor, followed promptly by the pencil.

"Stupid song, I'll never get this finished in time." She slouched backwards only to realize she was a little closer to the wall than she thought. Her head connected with the wall and a loud thump echoed though the house.

"Bugger..." She cursed quietly as she rubbed it "That'll leave a bruise." Suddenly Rikku burst though the door.

"Are you alright? I thought a Bandersnatch was loose in your room!!"

Yuna smiled at her cousin's worried expression and wondered what would happen if the wind changed and the perky young woman had to look like a worried mother for the rest of her life.

"I'm alright. Just getting a little frustrated with this stupid song I'm supposed to be writing." She sighed and bent down from the bed to pick up the notebook.

"Well, you're doing it because you're the best! Duh! Now gimmie that!" She snatched the book from Yuna.

"Hey, no peaking!!" Yuna made a poor attempt to get the book back, but Rikku held it away.

"I wasn't! I'm gonna put it over here on the desk and your going to stop beating yourself up over it and get some sleep. We have lectures in the morning and then practice and then were playing at 8! So get some shut eye, that's an order!" Rikku put the book on the desk and watched as Yuna willingly climbed under the sheets.

"That's better," Rikku said as she turned and walked out, turning off the light and shutting the door after her. As much as Yuna knew Rikku was right about getting some sleep, she also knew that the song needed to be finished soon so the band could learn it.

_I just need some inspiration_. She thought to herself as she stared in to darkness. She blinked sleepily a few times as sleep nagged at her.

The next morning Yuna was up early. She was eating breakfast at the table when she heard a commotion upstairs. She wasn't really hungry but Paine would yell at her if she didn't eat.

"There you go, Yuna." Paine said as she placed a steaming mug of tea in front of Yuna's cereal. "White with two."

"Thanks Paine." She said as she picked it up and sipped it. "Perfect." She smiled and then frowned at another thump from upstairs. "Didn't Rikku have a lecture at 8?"

Paine smiled one of her rare but becoming smiles, 'She sure did..."

"But it's 8:45! Oh, she's going to be in trouble, how many times this week is it now?" Yuna put her tea down and took a mouthful of cereal.

"Lets see, today is Friday, there was yesterday, and Tuesday, and Monday she was late for work as well as Uni... So that counts as two." Paine counted on her fingers. "So all up, five."

"That guy is going to be the end of her." Yuna smiled and continued to eat.

"Not to mention our phone bill and our sanity. I think maybe we should unplug the phone in her room."

Yuna put on a mockingly shocked face, "But how would she live?" Paine laughed, if you could call it that. It was more like a snort. "But seriously," Yuna continued "When does Gippal get back from his trip? I thought it was bad enough living with Rikku when he was always over and the strange noises at night coming from her room... But I think its worse when he's not here." Yuna took another mouthful of cereal and nearly chocked on it as Rikku came flying down the stairs and into the dining room.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap..." Rikku chanted as she ran to the fruit basket and grabbed an apple. Scooping up her backpack, she headed for the door. "Later dudes!" But before either girl had time to reply she was out the door and it was slammed hastily as Rikku ran to her car. From outside Paine and Yuna heard a 'sorry' called for slamming the door.

"She's certainly a strange girl." Paine added as she finished her toast and stood up. Picking up Yuna's empty bowl, she took it and her empty plate to the kitchen.

"You start at 10 today, don't you?" Yuna nodded. "You want a lift?" Paine asked as she finished her coffee. Yuna thought for a bit and then answered.

"No thank-you. I think I'll walk today. I need to clear my head and I can work on the song a bit more."

"Ah. Still lacking motivation?" Yuna sighed and nodded. She stood up and walked to the lounge to grab her books and bag. "Well, I'm off. I'll see you this afternoon." Yuna waved at Paine who plonked herself on the couch.

"Yep!" Paine answered and flicked the channel over to the cartoons.

"Now don't you be late because you got caught up watching the 'toons after all the hooha u just gave Rikku." Yuna laughed as Paine gave her a friendly don't-you-dare-compare-me-to-Rikku look. She walked outside and put her sunglasses on. It wasn't to hot this morning so that was a bonus.

Yuna took out her notepad as she walked and found a pencil in her bag. As she walked she hummed softly to herself and scribbled down words every now and then. She wasn't really paying attention until she went to cross the last road before the Uni. A motorbike came flying down the street and into the Uni, nearly taking Yuna out with him. Yuna took a step back and clutched at her chest.

"Oh my god," Yuna said to herself, "I think I've had a heat attack!" She checked her watch; it was only 9:30, so she still had time for another tea to calm her down. If it was one thing Yuna loved, it was tea.

She walked to the cafeteria and got her tea. Walking outside to the outdoor area, Yuna sat under her favorite tree. Leaning against the trunk she sipped her tea and closed her eyes, calming herself both mentally and physically.

When the time came to go to her lecture, she stood up and slowly walked there. It didn't matter if she wasn't early because Paine would save her a seat. As she walked into the lecture hall, she saw Paine sitting in the middle of the room. Yuna smiled and waved and made her way up to her.

"Hey." Paine greeted her, "How was your walk?"

Yuna sat down next to her and began to get her books out. "It was good until I was nearly killed!" Yuna said and quickly regretted it because Paine was always one to over-react when it came to Yuna's safety.

"What happened? Who was it?" Paine said almost angrily.

"It's alright, just some crazy guy on a bike. He was probably late for a class or something." Yuna replied.

"He's here?" Paine replied looking around.

"Well he headed into the car park; I don't know what he looked like because he had a helmet on. A bright yellow one." Yuna replied.

"I'll keep an eye out." Paine replied, and Yuna knew that she would. "Oh and have we decided on a play list for tonight?" Paine asked Yuna as she got out her own books.

"Oh poopie!" Yuna imitated her cousin. "I haven't even considered it. I'll do it over lunch."

"That's ok; I can do it if you want." Paine replied.

"Oh would you? That would be great because I was going to work on my song at lunch."

"That bloody song is going to the death of you, you know that don't you. I don't even know why you took it on. Always the one to help out I spose."

Paine then looked past Yuna at something, and Yuna turned around to see what she was looking at. After realizing that her eyes were crotch level with whoever it was that was standing beside her she looked up to face him.

He was perfect. Spiky blonde hair, olive skin well toned... The list went on as Yuna slowly looked him over. He plopped down in the seat beside her.

"This seat taken?" The guy asked. He would have been about the same age as Yuna,

"It is now..." Paine said sarcastically from behind Yuna. And that's when they both realized. He had put a bright yellow motorbike helmet on the desk in front of him. Both girls looked at each other, then to the helmet, then back to his grinning face. He extended a tanned arm and offered his hand.

"Hi, I'm Tidus. And you ladies are?"

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_A/N: Yay the first chappy!! Pease review, guys! You know I love it!_


	2. Introductions

_A/N: Well the next chappy is up. This story is fun to write becuase its not so serious. Yay! Anyway read on and please, please, please review.!!_

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**.:How Can I Not Love You?:.**

Suddenly he didn't look so perfect anymore.

"Is that your helmet?" Yuna asked, not wanting to jump to conclusions.

"Sure is! It's a beauty hey? Just bought it the other day!" He answered patting the helmet.

"You wanker!" Paine said angrily standing up and pointing her finger menacingly at Tidus.

"Woah, hold up! Whats with all the hostilities?" Tidus said leaning away from her.

"Hostilities??? I'll give you hostilities you jerk!" Paine angrily started to try to get past Yuna. Standing up suddenly, Yuna grabbed Paine's shoulder.

"That's enough, Paine. He's not worth it." She said to her friend as Paine nodded at sat back down.

"Not worth it? What the hell are you two on? I've only just met you! I don't even know your names..." Tidus started to get a little annoyed himself, after he got over nearly shitting in his pants from Paine trying to attack him.

"Look, Tidus wasn't it? Well, I'm sorry but you nearly ran over me this morning on that death machine of yours, and I didn't really appreciate it. So yes, that seat is taken, and not by you." Yuna said matter-of-factly.

"Well that's too bad, because it's a free country and I wanna sit here." Tidus replied in the same tone.

"Fine." Yuna couldn't be bothered with this today, so she stood up. "Come on Paine lets go sit over there." Yuna nodded to the front corner of the room, as far away from Tidus as was possible without actually leaving the room.

"It's your call, Yuna." Paine replied collecting all her books and standing when she saw how determined Yuna was. "But I don't know why we should move just because of this arsehole." Paine finished.

When the lecture had finished, both girls stood up and made their way to the cafeteria.

"I still can't believe that jerk. He didn't even apologize!" Paine growled and clenched her fist.

"Well we didn't really give him a chance to... But you're right, he didn't seem very sorry." Just then they heard a familiar voice.

"Yunie! Paine!" Both girls turned around to see Rikku running towards them. When she finally caught up, she draped her arm around both girls and panted.

"Jesus woman. I don't know how you do it." Paine looked at Rikku and raised an eye brow.

"Do what?" Rikku asked confused.

"Keep that level of energy all day. You're insane." Paine replied as Yuna laughed and Rikku gave a pout but couldn't hold it and started laughing.

'Was that better?" She asked.

"No, that was hideous. Was that meant to be a frown?" Paine replied jokingly as they all continued to walk.

"Coming from the Master of scowls herself... Maybe you should teach me??" And then before Paine could retaliate, Rikku spoke again. "Oh speaking of hideous, or the opposite of hideous, there was this guy in my Programming lecture today, he was half an hour late and came bursting in. Jesus he was so hot. Dreamy blue eyes, blonde hair. MMMmm.."

Yuna and Paine looked at each other and then back at Rikku. Paine spoke first.

"He didn't happen to be carrying a yellow motorbike helmet, did he?"

"Yeah he was, so you guys _have_ seen him? He's hot _AND_ he rides a bike... I tell ya what if Gippal wasn't around..." Rikku gazed dreamily ahead.

"Don't be silly Rik, you know there's no one else in this world for you other than Gippal." Yuna said.

"I know, but still..." Rikku winked at Yuna jokingly.

"And besides, Yuna already had a run in with him today. Twice actually. He's in our Writing lecture." Paine said as they entered the cafeteria. Rikku looked at Yuna

"Oo, did you give him you number?" Rikku asked.

"I'm not like that Rikku, you know that. But Paine gave him a piece of her mind, that's for sure." Rikku looked puzzled as they all ordered their lunches, and Yuna ordered another tea. As she paid, she continued. "That maniac nearly killed me this morning. I was walking here and he nearly ran me over speeding down the street. Then when he introduced himself to us, and we told him what he had done, he didn't even say sorry!"

"You got his name though, right?" Rikku asked, her mind always on the boys, rather than the important facts.

"Rikku, u klutz, he nearly killed Yuna,and all you care about is his name?" Paine said as they made their way to the tree. Rikku ignored Paine's comment and asked Yuna.

"So what was his name?"

"It was Tidus. But I don't see why it's so import..." Yuna stopped mid sentence and stared ahead. Both the other girls looked in the same direction to see that their spot under the tree had been taken by none other than the topic of the conversation.

"Hey ladies, talking about me again?" Tidus asked smugly as he patted the grass beside him, hinting that they join him. Rikku's face went red and then lit up, as she went to sit with him.

"Rikku!" Yuna whined. "Ugh, she will never change."

"Minus 20 respect points." Paine said to herself, but loud enough for Rikku to hear. Rikku pouted, but plonked herself down next to Tidus and extended her hand.

"Hi, I'm Rikku. You're Tidus right?" She said as Tidus grabbed her hand and shook it.

"Yup that's me. But I don't think your friends want to sit here..." He said as he looked up to see Yuna and Paine, both with their arms crossed and angry faces.

"Oh, poopie to them. They're the fun police." Tidus laughed and for some reason this made Yuna smile. The laugh just seemed so natural and friendly. She was getting really hungry and by this time there weren't many places left to sit inside.

"Come on Paine, let just sit down and eat. We don't have to talk to him." Yuna said as she walked over and sat opposite Rikku. Paine followed reluctantly and sat next Yuna. Rikku spoke first with a mouthful of sandwich.

"So, how come we haven't seen you all semester?"

"Well I just moved here. My dad got a job transfer and so I transferred as well. Since my mum left him, dad's kinda become more of a friend to me than a father... even though he can be a right prat sometimes, you know?" He said as took a mouthful of his own sandwhich. "But I'm being rude, here I am telling you my life story and I don't even know your names. Well beside Rikku here." He said, smiling at Yuna.

For some reason when he looked at her Yuna felt funny. She blushed at looked at her tea. She put it down to the fact that she had been pretty rude to him herself which wasn't really a normal thing for her to do. Not without a damn good reason anyway.

Before she could say anything, Paine answered for her.

"This is Yuna, and I'm Paine." She said without emotion.

"Paine, hey?" He said with a smirk. There was that smile again. Yuna couldn't help but notice how it just seemed to fit perfectly on his face, like the last piece in a 1000 piece puzzle that completed the picture. Paine just rolled her eyes. Like she wasn't used to it.

"And Yuna." He said holding his hand out to her. With her tea in one hand she looked at his hand and wondered whether she should shake it. She didn't want to be rude, but she didn't want to let him this he could get away with nearly killing her with a simple hand shake. She decided to do a little both of both. Polite but nonchalant.. She sighed and rolled her eyes, extending her hand for him to shake.

To hers, and everyone else's surprise, instead of shaking it, he bent down and gave her knuckles the slightest peck, never once breaking eye contact.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yuna." He said letting go of her hand. Yuna's expression spoke volumes. Her eyes were so wide Rikku thought they might just fall right out of her head and her jaw was so open an entire fist in it with room to spare. Her hand hadn't moved from the spot where he had let it go. Paine rolled her eyes again and grabbed her hand and put it in Yuna's lap. This made Yuna look around at her friends, Paine did not look impressed, but Rikku was grinning from ear to ear. She had nearly squished the remains of her sandwich in her hand from her contained excitement. When it came to boys and dating, Rikku was easily excited, especially when Yuna was involved.

"So," Tidus began. "What are you lovely ladies doing tonight?" He asked still looking at Yuna, then glancing at Rikku. He seemed a little scared to make eye contact with Paine.

"Oh, Oh!!" Rikku clapped excitedly, "Were playing at the Celcius. You should so come and watch!"

"The Celcius?" Tidus asked. Now it was Yuna's turn to roll her eyes. The last thing she wanted was him there watching her sing.

"Yeah it's the local pub, you'd love it!! Ohh! Please say you'll come!!" Rikku begged him while grabbing his arm and tugging it.

"What do you mean your playing there? You girls a jelly wrestling team or something?" Tidus joked and only Rikku giggled.

"No you dummy, we're YRP! We're a band!"

"You girls are in a band? What kind?" Tidus asked, genuinely surprised.

"The only kind! Punk Rock. But we do a bit of everything really. I play base, Paine's on the drums and Yunie's lead guitar."

"That's so awesome! Who's the singer?" Tidus asked although he had pretty much already guessed it would Yuna.

"Oh singing is Yunie's department. She's awesome, you'll love her!" Rikku said pointing at Yuna and grinning.

"I'm sure I will..." Tidus looked over at Yuna as well and couldn't help but laugh at how red her cheeks were.

"I'm not that great really..." she said quietly feeling the heat in her cheeks.

"Don't be so modest, Yuna, you are better than anyone else I know." Paine spoke now, one of the few times in the conversation, although when Rikku was on a roll it was hard for anyone to get a word in.

"Yeah!" Rikku agreed then looked at her watch. "But we gotta go now. Even great bands need practice.' She said as the three girls nodded in agreement and stood up. Tidus stood as well.

"It was nice meeting you all." He said as they turned to leave. "Oh wait!" He jogged the small distance they had walked. "How do I get to the Celcius?"

Rikku explained the way, but kept changing her mind as to which was the best way to go. Finally Paine interrupted her.

"Rikku's directs are crap and you'll end up on the other side of town." Rikku pouted and huffed. Paine carefly drew a small map on a piece of paper she dot from her bag ad handed it to Tidus.

"Thanks!" He said happily as he folded it and put it in his pocket.

"Oh but that means you're coming tonight yeah?" Rikku was perky again.

"I'll be there with bells on!" Tidus replied with a cocky smile.

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_A/N: review, review, review, review, review!!!!! Pretty please?_


	3. The Fish and Chip Shop

_A/N: yay for the next chappy. A another familiar face comes into the story. Hooray for my reviewers!! Whoot!! heh. Love you guys. Hope you like this chappy. _

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**.:How Can I Not Love You?:.**

Practice went smoothly but Yuna's mind wasn't in the garage that they called their 'srudio'. The whole time she was playing and singing, her thoughts were lingering on Tidus which annoyed her because he had still not apologized nearly running her over.

Still, even though he hadn't said he was sorry, that still didn't really give her the right to be rude did it? And now Rikku had told him to come to the show tonight and he would no doubt find her afterwards and want to talk. Should she be rude and just ignore him? Or should she just come right out and ask why he hadn't said he was sorry.

"Yuuuunie.... Helloooo? Anyone home??" Rikku gave Yuna a gentle knock on the head and waved her hand in front of her face.

"I think someone is a little distracted this afternoon..." Paine said with an almost smirk.

"Huh? Wha..." Yuna blinked and realized she hadn't really been paying any attention.

"I _said_ that we should give it a rest for the arvo and go get some food." Rikku repeated. "But maybe we should leave Yunie here to finish her thoughts about Tidus." Rikku winked at Paine.

"Hey, I was not think...." Yuna started to defend herself but went bright red. "Alright I was, but not in the way you're thinking Rikku!" She added quickly at the end when she saw Rikku's face light up. "I just don't know what I should say to him tonight." She said as she put her guitar back in it's case. "I don't know if I should be rude and just ignore him, or if I should ask him why he hasn't said sorry, or be nice to him because I haven't had a guy in my live for over a year now. Well apart from Seymour, but that doesn't count."

"I think you thinking too much about this, Yuna. Why not just forget about it until you see him tonight and then you will know what to say. And even if you don't know what to say, I'm sure he'll think of something." Paine decided it was time for a sensible answer as opposed to the one Rikku would have given.

"You're right." Yuna said with determination. "Now where are we going to eat?"

The girls decided on the fish and chip shop on the corner. Well really RIkku and Yuna chose it and Paine just rolled her eyes. When they got there, Yuna and Rikku walked in first.

"Hi Baralai!" they both chimed as they took a seat in at one of the small tables.

"Oh, good afternoon ladies." The silver hared man behind the counter turned around to face them.

"Hi Paine." H added when he saw her come in.

"Hi Baralai." She said as she sat with Rikku and Yuna. If Yuna wasn't mistaken she could have sworn she saw Paine blush but decided it was in everyone's interests not to say anything. She also noticed that Baralai hadn't taken his eyes of Paine since she came in.

"So," Baralai started dragging Yuna from her thoughts, "the usual?"

"You betcha!" Rikku added.

"Coming right up." Baralai turned around and began cooking.

When he brought the food over, Baralai grabbed a seat from another table and sat with them.

"I don't know why you guys eat here. No body else does." He looked around the small shop at the lack of people. In fact for the 20 minutes they had all been there not a single person had come in and the hadn't rung. "Not that I'm complaining. You ladies are great boredom relief." He smiled and Yuna could tell that that smile had turned Paine's insides to jelly. Yuna smiled at this. The two would make such a great couple, but Paine's stubbornness had halted any chances in their tracks.

As they ate, they chatted about things and time went by quickly. When they had finished, the girls stood up to leave and then Yuna remembered the fact that Tidus would be at the show tonight and a nasty thought entered her head.

"Hey Baralai, we're playing at the Celcius tonight, you should come watch!" Yuna piped up happily. With a side-wards glance at Paine, she saw the death stare she was giving. Paine was going to be so angry...

"Hey cool, what time?' Baralai asked as he made his way back behind the counter.

"We're on at 7!" Rikku caught on to what Yuna was doing and answered.

"Great. I finish here at 6, so I'll be there!" Baralai said excitedly and looked at Paine.

Paine rolled her eyes and walked out.

"She sooo likes you dude!" Rikku added and winked at Baralai.

"Do you think?" He asked honestly.

"Without a doubt." Yuna added as a smile spread across Baralai's features. "You just need to give her time to figure it out." Baralai nodded.

"Well I'll see you guys tonight!" He said as Rikku and Yuna walked out.

"See ya!" They girls said in unison.

When they we out of the shop, they both saw Paine standing on the other side of the street looking ready to kill.

"Maybe we should stay on this side of the street..." Rikku whispered to Yuna. Yuna laughed and crossed the small suburban street to face the impending doom.

"That was not cool, Yuna. Minus 20 respect points." Paine said as she waited for Rikku to get there and then started the short walk home.

"Well, I didn't want to be the only one feeling uncomfortable tonight!" Yuna half whined.

"Fair enough, but that wasn't my fault." Paine retaliated.

"I know, I'm sorry." Yuna hung her head low. Paine was always good at making her feel guilty.

"Don't be." Paine answered, which drew confused looks from both Rikku and Yuna. "truth is I've been wanting to talk to him for a while now."

"Oooo, Paine and Baralai, sitting in a tree...K-I-S-S-I-..." Rikku stopped suddenly as Paine finger was in her face.

"Finish that and I'll finish you." Paine said simply and turned around. "I just want to know more about him. I mean, we have been living down the street for how long now? 3 years? We are at his work almost 3 times a week, and yet we still don't know anything about him. I wanna know a few things before I go jumping down his pants. Plus I don't want to get involved with a guy who is going to spend the rest of his life working at a fish and chip shop!" She laughed a little and this made Rikku and Yuna laugh too.

"Well, I spose you're right." Yuna said, opening the front door of their house. "We should start getting ready for tonight. Gotta pack up all the gear. And now Paine has to get all dolled up... She winked at Paine and she just rolled her eyes.

"Oo, and so do you Yunie!" Rikku punched Yuna lightly on the arm.

"Don't be silly Rikku. Although..." Yuna went into thought for a second. "It would be a good idea to make him see what he's missing out on..." She said with a sly smirk.

"Yuna, that's not like you." Paine said with a smirk.

"I know. Maybe you are finally starting to rub off on me. I know exactly the outfit!"

"Oh god..." Paine replied as she recalled the outfit Yuna was thinking about. "Yuna, against popular belief, you are a bad girl..." Paine added But Yuna was already up the stairs to her room.

After they had got all the gear packed up Yuna went up to her room to change. Pulling on the tiny pair of denim shorts and fastening the belt over her hips, she then tied on the long blue accessory she had bought the other day. With out this long half skirt, she would feel naked in these shorts.

She then slipped the holter-neck singlet over her head. The plunging neckline of the shirt was kept together only by a metal copy of a symbol from the cover of her favorite book. She had made this herself after realizing the shirt was a little to revealing.

Yuna then put on her yellow armbands and laced them up, followed by the pink hood she had taken off her favourite sweater when it had got a hole in it. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.

"Now all I need are some shoes." She looked around her room and spied the perfect pair. Her knee high black boots would go perfectly. She put them on and sat on her bed to lace them up.

"Come on Yuna, we gotta go!" Paine yelled from downstairs.

"Coming!" Yuna replied. She grabbed her favorite black wrist wrap and her bad, and ran down the stairs.

Both Rikku and Paine gaped in disbelief when they saw Yuna.

"Um Yuna..." Paine started but didn't know how to finish.

"Woo hoo, you go baby!!" Rikku squealed.

Yuna smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Look out Tidus, here I come.!"

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A/N: Next time: The Show. YAY!! Please review again guys and let me know what you think.


	4. One in a Million

_A/N: Ok I dont own the song by bodyjar. I think everyone should d/l that song and listen. made me laugh!! Or if you dont wanna d/l at least read the words. :) Neways Thanks to everyone thats reviewing I love you guys heaps and heaps. Neways read on and enjoy (hopfully!)_

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**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

The girls drove around to the back entrance to the Celsius and got out. As they started to unload their gear, a tall, broad man walked out from the back door.

"Ah, you girls have finally arrived. Lu's been having a panic attack thinking you'd forgotten to come, ya?" he spoke as he helped them carry some stuff inside.

"Don't be silly Wakka, as if we would miss this." Rikku tried to sound happy but was struggling with her arms full of equipment.

"Rikku's right. It's so wonderful that you and Lulu have let us play tonight. I feel like we should be paying _you_ or something." Yuna added as she get the last of the gear from the car.

"Well have you seen the crowd out there? You guys must be pretty good, ya? And beside, how long have I know you Yuna? If I didn't give you a chance, I'd never forgive myself." Wakka put his arm around Yuna's shoulder.

"Neither would Lulu." Pain added truthfully. Wakka gave a hearty but nervous laugh.

"Paine's got a point, ya? Well anyway, I have to go, business ya know. You girls know the drill. You got half an hour." Wakka walked off and left the girls to set up.

They set up the gear and did a few sound checks. The Celsius was like a night club with a band stage. Covering the stage were thick curtains

"Ok girls, you ready?' Wakka poked his head around the side.

"All set!" Rikku gave Wakka an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"Ok then, I'll let the DJ know to announce you." The girls all nodded.

"Ok guys this rock this joint!" RIkku jumped up and down, psyching herself out. Paine nodded and twirled her drumsticks. Yuna nodded and pulled out her lucky pick. It had been given to her by her mother before she died and she used it to play the first song of every gig.

"Y!" She yelled, strumming a chord on her guitar.

"R!" Rikku followed with a few notes on the base.

"P!" Paine concluded with crash.

They heard the DJ announce them and the crown cheared. They weren't a famous band, but they certainly had a following in their home town.

Yuna grinned from ear to ear when the wolf whistles started. She wasn't the only one underdressed though. Rikku had on her standard amount of clothing (or lack there-of) She was wearing her favorite yellow bikini and green mini skirt. The bandana that Gippal had given her kept her yellow braids in some sort of order.

And Paine in her usual black tight-fitting leather. The three were really quite a site to see. Yuna blinked a few times. When she was on stage she was a different person. She wasn't shy or reserved. She grabbed the mic and spoke.

"Hey guys, how are we all tonight?" Which was followed by yells and whistles. "Ok well that was pathetic. We might as well go home guys." Yuna looked to Rikku and Pain. Rikku put on a sad face. Then grabbed her own back up mic.

"She saaiiidd... HOW ARE YOU ALL TONIGHT!!!" Rikku yelled. This was followed by louder screams and more whistles. Yuna listened to the crowd and looked them over. She could hear someone whistling louder than everyone. She had never been able to whistle like that. That's when she saw who it was who was whistling.

He was standing at the bar with a beer in his hand and his fingers in his mouth. When he realized that she had seen him, he stopped whistling and gave her a thumbs up. For some reason this made her smile and she could think of nothing better to do than return the gesture.

Rikku and Paine noticed what was happening and followed Yuna's gaze. Rikku smiled as she saw that somehow Baralai had managed to end up standing next to Tidus. The girls all watched as Baralai nudged Tidus and said something. Both guys smiled as Tidus said something back and then they both looked back to the stage. Yuna and Paine both rolled their eyes.

Rikku grabbed her mic again and spoke to the crowd. "There are a couple of special guys here tonight... You know who you are ..." She pointed towards Tidus and Baralai. "And we would like to dedicate this first song to you." Yuna and Paine rolled their eyes again Paine started to count in.

What followed was a kick arse cover of Rikku's favorite song. She had wanted the group to learn it for a moment just like this. The song was BodyJar's - One in a Million. As they started to play and Yuna began to sing, both the guys standing by the bar burst into laughter.

The first set went like a dream and everyone seemed really happy. After taking a quick brake out the back the girls returned and played another set. Although the girls had a few of their own songs, they mainly played covers at gigs like this, otherwise people got bored. By 11pm they had played four sets and were absolutely buggered. As the curtain closed on them and the cheers were slowly drowned out by the return of the dance music, they all breathed a tired sigh.

"Time for a drink, I think." Rikku said as she put her guitar on its stand.

"But we have to pack up." Yuna protested.

"That's ok guys, you can always come back tomorrow morning and do that." Wkka had poked his head around the side again. "You guys were so good. Lu's even talking about giving you guys a permanent gig here. That's if you want it, ya?" Wakka smiled when he saw all the girls faces.

"Oh my god Wakka that would absolutely rock!, I mean, wow, we'd finally have a place that YRP could call home!!" Rikku hugged Wakka.

"Rikku's right, where's Lulu, we have to thank her!" Yuna said as she smiled at Wakka.

"She went home hours ago with Vedina. She said to say hello, ya"

"Well this definitely calls for a few drinks." Paine said as she put her sticks on the kit and walked over to the curtain "Coming Rikku?"

"You betcha! ... Yuna?" Rikku looked over at her cousin who was looking a bit doubtful/

"I just don't know what to say... I mean... Ugghh..." She made a frustrated noise and walked over to her friends. "Maybe a few drinks will help. But whatever you guys do, do _NOT_ – and I stress do not – leave me alone with him." Rikku and Paine nodded.

The girls walked out and made their way to the bar. Getting a few cheers and pats from people in the club, they finally reached it.

"Can we please have a rum and coke, a vodka and orange and a scotch on the rocks." Paine asked the bartender, who nodded.

"And 3 tequila shots please!" Rikku added and the bartender smiled. Both Yuna and Paine looked at her. "What? I _thought_ we were celebrating?"

"Yes but remember last time you and Yuna had tequila? I ended up carrying you both home!" Paine said with a stern look as she remembered the fateful night.

"Well ok, we'll just have the one shot and then no more." Rikku said with a mischievous glint in her eye. She knew they wouldn't stop at one but if it would get Paine off her case then that would be enough.

'Sounds like a plan." Yuna nodded as the drinks arrived. "But who's paying?"

"Oh that's ok," the bartended interrupted. "Wakka says its on the house for you girls tonight. Congrats on getting the gig, you guys were great."

"Ooo, drinks taste so much better when they're free!" Rikku said as she sipped her vodka. She put it down and picked up her tequila in her right hand. Picking up a slice of lemon the bartender had given then and opening the small packet of salt, she poured it on the skin between her thumb and forefinger.

"Ready girls?" Rikku as the other did the same with the lemon and salt. Using Y,R,P as a count down the girls shot the tequila easily. Rikku followed hers with a big gulp from her vodka and orange but Yuna just pulled a slightly sour face.

Paine took a deep breath and looked at the others. "Now no more." Just as she said it she saw both Tidus and Baralai walk up to them. Yuna nervously sipped on her rum and coke when she saw them and Rikku ran and hugged them both.

"Oh, Rikku, before I forget, Gippal rang me this afternoon. He told me not to tell you but I know you'd kill me if I didn't. He's coming back early, He'll be here in like..." Baralai looked at his wactch, "In about 10 minutes!"

"Holy crap! 10 minutes? Oh god, I look like shit! Oh um... Yuna hold this I gotta go fix myself up!" Rikku passed her drink to Yuna and ran off towards the ladies room. Yuna sighed.

"That wasn't nice Baralai. I hope it's the truth" Paine looked accusingly at Baralai. Baralai made a grunting noise and grabbed Paine's arm.

"Right I've had enough of this. You, come with me, we need to talk." This took Paine completely by surprise and before she could protest, Baralai had dragged her through the crowd and nearly out the door.

"Seems like an ok guy." Tidus said, pulling Yuna from her thoughts.

_Oh god, I thought I told them not to leave me alone with him..._

Yuna turned around to face the bar and skulled her drink. She then looked at Rikku's and drank have of that as well.

"Woah, slow down there. You can't drink like that or you'll out drink me in a minute!" Tidus laughed and held up his only half drunk beer.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do. You don't even know me." Yuna snapped suprising both Tidus and herself at the viciousness in her voice.

"Hey, what's with the hostilities? You're one strange girl." Tidus took a swig of his beer.

"Well then why do you keep hanging around?" Yuna said and finished Rikku's drink.

"Because I like it when you're not a nasty bitch." Tidus replied finishing his beer. Yuna wasn't the only one who was getting annoyed.

"Nasty bitch? _Nasty bitch?_ Where do you get off, buddy?" Yuna poked Tidus in the shoulder. "You're the prat that nearly ran me over and then never apologized!!"

_There! I finally said it._ Yuna thought.

She looked at Tidus who suddenly looked different. He put his empty bottle on the bar and gently put his hands on Yuna's bare shoulders.

_So soft..._ Yuna thought.

"Is that why you've been this way? Oh Jesus, I'm sorry. I just didn't think. I mean... Yuna I'm sorry. I just didn't think. You're right. I am a prat." Tidus turned around to face the bar.

_Great way to make me feel bad..._ Yuna thought. She sighed and put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, that's ok, I don't really think you're a prat... I was just angry that's all."

"And I don't think you're a nasty bitch." He smiled at her and she smiled back.

They looked at one another for a moment and then both burst into laughter. For some reason beyond their control, Paine and Baralai and Rikku all came back at that precise moment.

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_A/N Please review again guys!! wh00t!_


	5. 100s & 1000s

**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

"What's so funny?" Paine asked dryly.

"Yeah!" Rikku put her hands on her hips and looked at Yuna and Tidus. "What _have_ you two been doing?" Rikku looked at the bar and then at the empty glass Yuna was clutching in her fingers. "And where's my goddamn drink?" She feigned anger.

"Oh…" Yuna looked down at the glass and blushed. "I kinda drank it. Sorry Rik, I'll get you another one." Yuna turned around to the bar to order when she heard Rikku from behind her.

"Better make that two. Can't have you out drinking me!" She called. Tidus laughed and turned to face the bar as well from his spot right next to Yuna. He wished he could smell her. The normal nightclub smell of smoke and alcohol was the only smell around. He sighed wondering what he was supposed to do next. As his mind wondered he realized someone was patting his arm. He blinked a few times and looked over at Yuna.

"I said do you want another drink? Wakka says it's alright for our _dates_ to have a few on the house too." Yuna smiled at the response this got from him. "So what are you drinking?"

"Um, rum and coke?" He answered still wondering exactly what Yuna had meant by 'dates'. Yuna ordered the drinks, one for herself, two for Rikku and one for Tidus. When they were already, Rikku's arm appeared from over Yuna's shoulder and grabbed her two drinks. Yuna took hers in one hand and held the other one out to Tidus. As he went to grab it their fingers touched. It was so cliché. Yuna's heart skipped a beat and she looked away. Had she kept looking at Tidus she would have seen the tiny smile that crept onto his lips and his eyes soften with happiness.

Tidus wondered why Yuna had looked away. She had been so feisty before but now she was all shy. He wanted to know her better. He wanted to know why she had been so defensive to start with and now was like a scared rabbit.

"Hey," He said as he laid his free hand on Yuna's forearm, "Is there someplace quieter we could talk?" Yuna just looked at him like he had just spoken in tongues. "I just wanna ask you something that's all. It'll just take a minute." Yuna gave him an 'I-don't-believe-you' look but turned around to Paine.

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt but Tidus and I just gotta go backstage for a bit to sort stuff out." Yuna said, trying not to say it so loud that Rikku would hear. As it was, when Rikku realized the two were missing she would jump to so many conclusions she could run for the Olympics.

"You've got 10 minutes." Paine said to Yuna. "After that, I'm coming looking for you with a broken bottle." She eyes Tidus menacingly and he knew she meant it.

Yuna lead the way and they found the small room that the bands used as a dressing room. Yuna sat in an armchair and crossed her legs while Tidus chose to sit on the floor with his back up against the wall. From where he sat, he leaned over and pushed the door closed.

"Man, what's with your friend Paine? It's like she's got a drumstick up her butt." Tidus said, taking a sip of his drink.

"She's just protective of me, that's all. We are like family, her, Rikku and I. But you could have asked me that out there. Why did you want me to come all the way back here to ask why Paine's a bitch?"

"Well, basically I just wanted to talk. I mean, we never really got a chance to before and well, I spose I just…" Tidus wasn't really sure why he had asked her to talk; he just wanted to talk to her about something… Anything…

"Well, come on. Geez. One minute you're Mr. Talkative, and then you stumble over all your words like you've had one to many rums." Yuna sighed and drank from her own drink.

"See that's just it." Tidus pointed at Yuna with his drink. "That's exactly what you do!! One minute your miss high and mighty, then you're all sorry and shit. Then you hate me, then you're blushing when we touch. What's that all sposed to mean?" As soon as he had said it, Tidus wished he hadn't. For some reason Yuna suddenly made a face that made her look much older. She frowned and creases appeared in her brow that would have otherwise been invisible.

She looked down at her hands, wobbled her drink slightly and the ice tinkled in the glass. A long silence passed between them, but Tidus didn't know what he should say. He had obviously said something that upset her and he didn't want to do that again. Just as he opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong, she spoke.

'It's not your fault. I'm sorry." There was a slight quiver to her voice and Tidus wondered if she was holding back tears. He couldn't see her face because she was looking downwards at her lap. Her short, chocolate coloured hair drooped around her cheeks. As Tidus studied her he saw a small drop fall from her face into her drink.

"It's nobody's fault but my own. I'm just stupid." She looked up now and to the side. She was trying hard to not let Tidus see her face but he could tell that she was crying.

Putting his drink down and standing up he walked slowly over to her. Kneeling down in front of her he took her drink and placed it on the floor next to him. He then took her hand in his and spoke.

"Yuna I'm sorry. I've upset you. That's not what I wanted. But I'm here if you want to talk about anything."

There was a silence again as Yuna looked down at Tidus' hand over hers.

"It's just that… Well it's been a while since anyone touched me. In any way. Apart from Rikku of course." Yuna rolled her eyes and the tiniest of smiles crossed her face. "I couldn't count the number of hugs I get from her." Yuna sighed and continued talking, still with her face downcast. "It's my ex, Seymour. He…" Yuna suddenly burst into tears. Something she hadn't done for a very long time. Not since…..

She had made herself strong. She had pushed away all the nasty memories, she had never wanted to talk about it again. Until now. Something about Tidus made her want to open her heart to him.

_This is ridiculous. I don't even know this guy and I'm telling him things I've told no-one but Paine and Rikku… And I'm crying again…_ Yuna thought as she pulled her hand out of Tidus' grasp and put her face into her hands.

Tidus didn't really know what to do. He wasn't used to seeing girls cry. But one thing he did know. He didn't like it. He didn't like seeing something as beautiful as Yuna hurting. He wanted to hold her and make all the pain go away. He knew that whatever was upsetting her obviously wasn't that easily fixed. But he could try, right?

He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her. With her hands still covering her face there was nothing Yuna could have done about it. At first he thought she would stop crying instantly and shove him away, tell him he was just like all the other guys. But she didn't. As he held her, tightly but not roughly, she cried silently onto his chest. After what seemed like an eternity, her body stopped shaking and he felt her take her hands from her face and place them on his shoulders. Tidus didn't move until her felt Yuna's breathing return to normal. She took her hands off him and he slowly and reluctantly took his arms from around her and placed his hands on her bare shoulders. Bending his head slightly to look at her face he saw that she was smiling again. Waiting for the nasty comment or the slap, Tidus stared at Yuna's beautiful smile. After a moments silence, Yuna spoke.

"Thank-you." She said with a small nod of her head. She looked up now and smiled fully at Tidus. "I needed that."

"Hey," Tidus grinned back, "Anytime, kay?" Yuna nodded. "Now come on, let's go find the others!" Tidus bent down and picked up Yuna's drink and handed it to her. "You can tell me what happened when you're ready, yeah?" Yuna nodded again. "Let's go have another drink!" Tidus grabbed Yuna's hand and before she had time to say anything, he was opening the door and dragging her out.

As they made their way through the crowded club towards the bar, Yuna couldn't stop thinking about Tidus and how he had held her. She couldn't understand how, only a few days ago she had hated him, now she was hugging him… And liking it. No, more that liking it, craving it. There was something different about the way he held her. Seymour never held her like that. When Seymour had put his arms around her, she had felt caged. She had felt like he was restricting her. But with Tidus it was different. When Tidus held her she felt like she could take on the world. She felt like he was making her whole.

_God, if Paine knew I was thinking that, she'd kill me. _Yuna could almost hear Paine's lecture the day Yuna had told her what Seymour had done… 'You don't need a guy to make you whole, you're a whole person as it is… When you find another guy, don't make that mistake again. A guy doesn't complete you, like icing completes a cake. A guy is merely a garnish…kinda like 100's and 1000's… really sweet, but too many can make you sick!" Yuna remembered Paine's words with a slight chuckle.

"What's so funny?" She heard Paine asked as she nearly walked right into her. Yuna realized they had found the group still at the bar, still minus Rikku, but she noted that Gippal had arrived.

After beaming a huge smile at Gippal, she looked at Paine and smiled bigger. "Nothing. Just remembering something you said to me about cakes and sprinkles."

Paine narrowed her eyes at Yuna. From under her eyelids she glared at Yuna as if trying to remember what she was talking about. Suddenly she took a sharp breath in and opened her eyes wide. She blinked at Yuna and then looked at Tidus and blinked. Then back at Yuna. Making the connection, she narrowed her eyes again and looked back at Tidus. Tidus took a breath in and held it. Without realizing it, he squeezed Yuna's had slightly. Yuna looked at him but he was too intent on the thin finger with perfectly manicured back nail that was pointed in at his face.

"If you so much as lay a finger on her that's not wanted, I'll plant my boot so far up your arse, you'll be riding your bike with one of those donut butt pillows!" Paine's words were angry but on closer inspection Tidus could see that she wasn't really angry. Her eyes seemed to plead for him to treat her right. Paine's eyes shot down to where Tidus' hand was entwined with Yuna's.

_Crap…_ Tidus thought, _now I've done it. I'm gonna get a flogging for sure…_ Tidus stopped squeezing Yuna's hand and loosened his grip. If Yuna had wanted to take her hand away she could easily have done so. _If_ she had wanted to.

Paine noticed then that Yuna still gripped tightly to Tidus' hand. She smiled then and grabbed her drink off the bar. "Right. Now that that's settled, let's drink!" She held her glass up to Tidus and he responded by raising his own glass to the toast.

"To many more great performances by YRP!" Tidus put forward.

"To new friendships." Paine said as she grinned at Yuna.

"To Rikku finally dragging her skanky arse out of the toilets, _again_!" Gippal added, the first time he had spoken since Yuna and Tidus had come back. Everyone turned to face the direction Gippal had raised his glass to, only to see Rikku coming waltzing up from the toilets for a second time.

"Yeah!" Rikku threw a fist into the air to cheer herself. She looked around the group "A toast to me! And a toast to…. OH MY GOD!!! You two are holding hands!!!!?"


	6. stupid water

_A/N: In the words of the great Homer Simpson… SWEET MECIFUL CRAP! Another chapter and its only been what, 3 months? Haha I'm sorry. Not that I got any reviews which doesn't help, but hey. I must be the only one wanting to know whats going to happen! (and no I don't know, I'm making this up as I go…) Please review… please?_

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**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

"What's going on here… This is the second time tonight that you've confused me, Yuna. And where did you guys go before... Hey, wait a sec…" Rikku turned around to face Gippal mid sentence and pointed at him. "What did you just say about my arse, Gippal?" Gippal gave a slight grin, and turned to the others.

"Um… I'll see you guys tomorrow, yeah?" He then looked back at Rikku, who was pouting and trying her best to turn her usually wide eyes into angry, narrow slits. "I believe I called it skanky…" with those words he turned and disappeared into the crowd.

"Why you no good, son of a smeghead!" Rikku yelled and started after him.

"Rikku, wait." Paine grabbed her arm.

"Paine, lemmie go! I'm gonna kill him." Rikku squirmed in Paine's firm grip.

"That's great, but are you gonna be ok by yourself? I think we are about ready to go home." She let go of Rikku's arm and looked at her seriously.

"I'll be fine. I'm gonna stay at Gippal's." And with that she ran off into the crowd chasing after him.

"She'll be ok, Paine. Gippal wouldn't let anything bad happen." Baralai put his arm around Paine's waist and then promptly removed it when she turned around and shot an icy glare in his direction.

"Ok so the question is how are the rest of us getting home?" Tidus piped up.

"Well, where do you live Tidus?" Baralai asked.

"Way over by the stadium. It's like a 30 dollar cab ride…" Tidus scratched the back of his head.

"Why don't you stay at our house like Baralai is?" Yuna asked followed by a wry look from Paine.

"That's a good idea. I'm not going home tonight because my father's being an arsehole." Baralai nodded in response and Yuna looked at him strangely.

"I'll explain later, Yuna" Paine told her. "If it's ok with Yuna to stay it's ok with me. But you sleep on the couch." Paine added as she saw the sparkle in Tidus' eye get just the tiniest bit brighter.

They arrived home and all stumbled out of the taxi. Before they had left Wakka had made them all have another drink and a dance. Paine had protested vehemently but had ended up enjoying herself.

Much to Yuna's surprise, when they got inside, Paine said goodnight and led Baralai straight up the stairs to her room. With a quick glance back at Yuna, Baralai was greeted with an I-told-u-so smile from her. He smiled back and winked at her; she blushed and hoped Tidus hadn't seen it.

When she heard Paine's door close, she turned around to Tidus who was sitting on the couch.

"I'll just go get you a blanket and a pillow. Would you like a drink of water?" She asked as she opened a linen closet and grabbed sleeping bag and a pillow. She tossed these to Tidus who, due to the dark room an his alcohol effected reflexes, didn't move fast enough to catch them and was nearly knocked off the couch. Yuna laughed as she walked with a wobble over to the fridge.

"Yeah that'd be great, thanks." Tidus said as he realized he had left his shoes on when he came inside and began to take them off. There was a commotion over by the fridge and Tidus looked over to see Yuna struggling with something on the door. He stuck his socks in his shoes and put them neatly next to the couch and got up to see what was going on.

"God-dammit…" Yuna mumbled to herself as she tried to untangle her half-skirt from the door handle. It was one of those new fridges that believed more in looking fancy and modern than being practical and had a crazy handel. Tidus couldn't help but laugh.

"You know," Yuna huffed throwing her hands down. "Instead of laughing, you _could_ help me…"

Tidus stopped laughing and walked over to her.

"Hang on." He knelt down so he was eye level with the knot Yuna had managed to create from all the struggling. He blinked a few times to get the drunkish haze out of his eyes and started to untie the threads of blue material.

As his fingers worked, Yuna looked down on the blonde hair and had to fight the urge to run her fingers through it. She stopped for a second and chided herself for having these crazy thoughts. She blamed it on the alcohol. She wasn't drunk, but she was definitely intoxicated. She smiled at the closeness of his face to her bare belly and wondered what it would feel like if he kissed it.

"Would you like me to?" Tidus' voice brought her out of her thoughts and she blinked, suddenly fully concentrating on what she was looking at.

Tidus had untied the knot and the blue material now lay on the floor in a heap. He was sitting back on his heals, his handsome face and striking blue eyes looking up at her. His blonde hair was mostly flicked back but a single bang fell across his forehead. Yuna blinked again.

"Sorry?" She asked, having not really heard what he had said.

"Would you _like_ me to kiss your belly?" He asked with a small but innocent smile.

_Oh my god!_ Yuna thought. _I must have said that out loud… Oh my god how embarrassing… _

"Um… well…" Yuna stumbled to say something but she couldn't think of the right words.

"Just once then, I promise." Tidus half whispered. And for some reason Yuna found herself nodding.

Tidus reached up and gently placed his hands on Yuna's hips. Still looking up at her, he gently moved his thumbs up and down a few times, stroking her soft skin. Yuna closed her eyes took a big breath in. She felt his fingers moving slightly on her back as he kept hold of her hips. Through his hands, she felt his body shift as his head moved closer. Suddenly there was a sharp warm contrast on her cool belly.

His lips were warm and moist as he kissed her skin. Yuna put her hands on his head and tangled her fingers in his soft blonde hair. She began, absent mindedly to gently run her nails over his scalp. He let out a sigh of simple pleasure as she did. She could feel his nose in her bellybutton and his breath ticked her so she giggled slightly. Much to her dismay, this made Tidus stop kissing her. The alcohol had put her in a playful mood and she pouted down at him. Without taking his hands off her hips, he stood up effortlessly and looked her right in the face.

"I was enjoying that…" She said disappointedly. Her hands were now on his shoulders, his still around her waist. The room was dark, and it was sad to say that the mood lighting came from the open fridge.

Yuna closed her eyes and lent forward, her heard turned upwards towards Tidus'. However instead of her lips touching warm soft skin, they found themselves pressed against cold and slightly rough skin. She opened her eyes to find Tidus smiling down at her and his fingers pressed softly onto her mouth.

"Another time, perhaps." Tidus whispered. He let her go and took hold of both her hands. "For now, I think it's your bedtime." He laughed quietly. "Which way is your room?"

Yuna took her hands back and put them on her hips. Had she just been _rejected_ by him? Yuna never did daring things like what she had just done, and now that she had, she had been _rejected_?

_That arrogant prick,_ Yuna fumed internally. _And then telling me it was my bedtime?_

"I'm not 12, you know. **I** say when it's **my** bedtime. And I can find my own way to my room, I don't need your help, thank–you very much!" She said angrily as she pushed the fridge door closed. She half marched, half stumbled over to the stairs, turned around at the base of them and pointed at Tidus.

"And you can get your own stupid drink of stupid water!" And with that she stumbled up the stairs and then a door was slammed. Tidus was grateful for the dark because it his smile.

He sighed and opened the fridge again. Seeing a jug of water, he took it out and looked around for a glass. Not being able to find one, he simply drank from the jug. Filling it up with tap water, he put it back into the fridge and made his way over to the couch.

After getting comfortable, and snuggled under the sleeping bag, he set the alarm on his watch to go off at 7am.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day…

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_A/N: I know its short but at least it's something right? Right… ok well maybe not. I'll try make the next chappy longer. Sumimasen!_


	7. All you need is a punch in the face!

_A/N: Oh my god, I don't think I've ever had so many reviews for a single chapter! I updated as soon as I could and I think I made it a bit longer too. I'm halfway through the next chappy as well so don't worry you wont have to wait too long! Thank you so much for all you reviews and to answer __Christine__, yes there are going to lemons, and I didn't want to start it in a PG section and then have to move it.!_

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**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

"Good morning, princess!" a chirpy voice rang in Tidus' ears. He grumbled and rolled over so his face was buried into the crack of the sofa, trying to hide his face from the bright sun.

_Wait a minute…_Tidus thought, _Bright sun? There shouldn't be bright sun at this time of the morning…_

"What time is it…" his muffled voice came from the cushions of the couch.

"It's…. 10:45 exactly. That's about time for you to get up sleepy head!" the voice replied.

_10:45? What the hell happened to my alarm! Stupid watch._ Tidus slowly rolled over and opened his eyes, immediately closing them again.

"Here. Drink this!" The voice replied, sticking something ice cold onto Tidus' neck. This got him up. He leapt up to a sitting position and suddenly regretted it. Putting his hand on his forehead he looked at the person who was talking to him.

"What was that for, Rikku?" He groaned.

"Gippal and I have been up for hours! You lot in this House of Evil Hangovers would have slept for eternity if we hadn't come to save you!" Rikku said with just a little too much energy, even if it was nearly the middle of the day. She handed Tidus the cold bottle of sports-drink. She had bought one for every one in the house. Tidus took it gratefully and drank almost half of it in one gulp.

"Don't listen to her, man. You look just like I feel." Gippal laughed and rubbed the back of his head. Tidus glanced over and Gippal and realized that Gippal really did look like shit.

"Thanks…" He nodded at Gippal and smiled. Gippal sat down next to him and grabbed the remote. He turned the TV on and changed the music video channel. Tidus finished his drink and thanked Rikku for it.

"That's not a problem, lover-boy" She grinned

"Lover-boy?" Tidus echoed.

"Don't think you can fool me, Tidus. I saw you and Yunie last night. You guys were all over each other!" Rikku pointed an accusing finger at Tidus in a playful way.

"Yeah well, things might be a bit different this morning… I'm thinking that maybe I should leave before she gets up…" Tidus looked down at the floor.

"What did you do to her?" Rikku said suddenly, her face turning from happy to stern in an instant. Gippal's head whipped around and stared at Tidus with an if-you-hurt-her-I'll-beat-the-crap-out-of-you look.

"God, guys. It's nothing like that!" Tidus answered quickly. "I know you don't know me to well but I hope you don't really think I'd do something like that to Yuna!"

"Well…" Rikku put her hand on her chin in a thinking way. "I _spose_ not…"

"In fact…" Tidus interrupted, "It was exactly the opposite. But…"

"But what?" Gippal asked.

"But I don't think I should tell you. I think that if Yuna wants you guys to know, she'll tell you." Tidus had barely finished his sentence before Rikku had taken off towards the stairs to go ask Yuna what had happened.

Gippal and Tidus sat in silence beside one another on the couch, both watching the TV, neither knowing what to say.

Rikku bounded up the stairs and burst into Yuna's room.

"Yuna, wake up right NOW!" Rikku said loudly and she sat down on the beside Yuna's sleeping form.

"Piss off, Rikku…" Yuna mumbled and put her pillow over her head. She knew it was pointless though, as telling her to piss off would have only made her more agro.

"Yuna, you get up right now and tell me what happened between you and Tidus last night or I'm going down to the fridge to get some icy water to dump on you!"

_Water…_Yuna thought. _Tidus… Water… Fridge... _"Oh my god…" Yuna mumbled and slowly sat up. "I was such a bitch."

"Oh my god what? Why were you a bitch…? Yuna, come one tell me." Rikku was getting impatient and bouncing on the bed as she sat.

"I spose Tidus has already told you his side of the story… That's if he's even here still…" Yuna ran her fingers through her bed-hair.

"No, he wouldn't tell us. He said if you wanted us to know, then you'd have to tell us yourself."

"Us?" Yuna questioned.

"Gippal and me. But that's not the issue here. So come on, spill!"

"Oh I feel like such and idiot…"Yuna started. Rikku shot her an annoyed glare which told Yuna to hurry and get to the details. Yuna sighed. "I tried to kiss him and he…"

"YOU DID WHAT?" Rikku interrupted.

"I tried to kiss him, ok? Yeah I know that's not like me, which kinda made what happened next even worse."

"Worse? What did he do?" Rikku took hold of Yuna's hand expecting her to say something terrible.

"He rejected me…" Yuna looked down and started fiddling with her pyjamas.

"HE DID WHAT?" Rikku jumped up and started towards the door.

"Rikku, wait, please don't make a scene. I was drunk and it was probably for the best…" Yuna grabbed Rikku's arm but Rikku yanked it out of her grasp.

Rikku was always over protective of Yuna, but not in the same was Paine was. Where Paine would have given Tidus a medal for what he had done, in Rikku's eyes, he couldn't have done anything worse. For someone to think they were too good for her Yunie, they must have been delirious. Oh, Tidus was going to cop it from Rikku and there was nothing Yuna could say that was going to stop her.

"I'm going to rip that mother fuckers head right off cocky shoulders!" Rikku snarled as she stormed out of Yuna's room followed closely by Yuna, who was pleading with her to calm down.

_I need Paine's help here…_Yuna thought. She ran to Paine's door and knocked loudly.

"Paine, you need to get up. Right now!" Yuna spoke loudly through the door. She was about to go in when she remembered Baralai would be in there too, and she didn't want to see them in some sort of… compromising… position.

"Why?" Came Paine's sleep-laden voice in reply.

"A long story short, Tidus rejected me last night and I told Rikku and now she's going to –and I quote– rip that mother fuckers head off…Pease Paine," Yuna begged "I need your help!"

Yuna heard some thumping noises and a curse from inside and then Paine opened the door in her pyjamas, her hair was all over the place and Baralai was standing behind her in his boxers –both with smirks on their faces.

"This I have to see. You can explain later." Paine said as all three made their way quickly down the stairs.

Tidus and Gippal both spun their heads around when they heard Rikku's raised voice coming from Yuna's room.

Tidus' eyes grew wide and Gippal looked over at him with a smile.

"There are only 2 things in this world that you could have done to make Rikku yell like that." Gippal said with a hint of laughter. "And since you say you didn't rape her…" Tidus shook his head as a definite 'no' and Gippal continued, "You rejected her didn't you?" Gippal asked. From the lack of answer and another shout coming from upstairs, Gippal knew he was right. He stood up and took a few steps backwards. "It was nice knowing you, man…" He said with a grin

Tidus stood up, confused, and faced to stomping that was coming down the stairs.

Rikku appeared and Tidus shuddered. He had never seen anyone look as angry as she did. Rikku's normally happy, never frowning facial features had been contorted into an evil scowl that would have frightened the pants off the devil himself.

"Rikku, please, I can explain…" Tidus started as Rikku came to within 2 meters of him. Before Tidus could even react, Rikku had walked around the sofa and angrily shoved Tidus shoulders so that he fell backwards to a sitting position on the couch.

"Explain what, you egotistic prick? That you think you're too goddamn good looking to get with Yuna? That you think you're god's gift to women and that you can pick and choose whoever you want? That you can get any girl to fall for you by promising her the world and then just rejecting her? Fuck you, Tidus, because your not 'all that' and Yuna doesn't want you anyway and the only reason she tried to kiss you is because she was drunk. No one in their right mind would want to kiss you! You're a stuck up, arrogant pretty-boy and I want you out of my house right NOW!" Rikku had yelled the entire speech and had practically screamed the last part. She stomped her foot and jammed her hands onto her hips.

By this stage Yuna, Paine and Baralai had come down the stairs and had caught the end of Rikku rant.

Tidus stood up, suddenly angry at being accused of something that he wasn't and being blamed for doing the right thing. He pointed at Rikku angrily and spoke through gritted teeth.

"Fine! I'm quite happy to leave. But only if Yuna tells me to." Without taking his eyes off Rikku, he pointed at Yuna. "I know she's your cousin and your friend but she has her own goddamn opinions and if _she _thinks what I did last night was wrong then _she_ can tell me herself. And I think it's up to Yuna whether she 'wants' me or not. You hardly know me, Rikku, and yet you have the nerve to call me arrogant? _For fucks sake_!" Tidus was yelling now and Rikku was taken by surprise that someone was actually standing up to her when she was angry.

Gippal's jaw was open in shock and Baralai had his hand over his mouth trying to conceal a grin, Paine was standing there with her arms crossed trying to access everything that was happening and figure out what had happened the night before; and Yuna had both her hands on her face trying to block out the whole situation.

"I mean," Tidus continued, "I think it's you who needs a fucking reality check, Rikku. I do the right fucking thing by not taking advantage of Yuna because she was drunk, and you act like I fucking raped her!" The second Tidus had finished he wished he hadn't said what he had. Rikku's face twisted into an even angrier glare and she shouted something, but Tidus didn't hear what she had said, because her fist had connected with his cheek bone with a loud crack and everything went black.

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_A/N: Ooo… kekeke… A cliffy. I know Rikku is kinda OCC here but I recon if she was reallypissed offthis is how she would act… You'll find out a bit more in the next chappy as to why Rikku isso mad. Oh and one other thing, for all you American readers out there, I'm an Aussie, so if things are spelt differently or dollar amounts don't seem right or whatever, that's why! _


	8. Explanations

_A/N Wow another chappy so soon? This is Ridiculous! Who are you and where has Big-Purple-Lizard? Haha neways read and PLEASE review? PWIDDY PWEEZ?_

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**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

What followed that punch was chaos. Gippal was frantically trying to hold Rikku back from the now unconscious Tidus. Yuna was trying to lift his dead-weight off the floor and back onto the couch, Paine had sent Baralai to the freezer to get an ice-pack and had gone to get a towel to wipe up the blood that was now dribbling out of Tidus' nose and from a cut on his cheek.

"Whoa, Rikku, calm the fuck down!" Gippal said as he restrained her flailing arms and dragged her towards the door. "I think you need to chill out, babe, let's go for a walk." Gippal suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea…" Paine added, returning from the linin cupboard.

"Fine by me! I wouldn't want to be near him when he wakes up anyway!" Rikku said angrily and as Gippal let her go she stormed out the front door.

"I'll see what I can do. We'll meet you down at the shop." Gippal said to everyone and followed Rikku.

Yuna was almost hysterical.

"Tidus! Tidus wake up… Oh my god I hope you're ok!" She was crying and still trying to heave him onto the couch. Baralai came back with the ice and gently moved Yuna out of the way.

"Here. Let me do that." With what seemed like no effort at all he lifted Tidus up and plonked him on the couch. "There ya go mate." He said Tidus gave a groan but didn't open his eyes. Yuna tried to push past Baralai, but he grabbed her.

"Come on Yuna, I think you need to chill a bit too. He's gonna be alright, he just needs some air. We'll let Paine deal with this. Come on down to the shop and Ill get you a cup of tea." Baralai said, taking Yuna by the hand and dragging her towards the door.

"But this is my fault, I need to explain. I need to…"Yuna started but Paine interrupted her.

"No, Yuna, you'll just freak him out. I'll tell him what's going on and we'll meet you down at the shop when he's feeling better ok?" Paine said, helping to push Yuna gently towards the door.

"Ok, but tell him everything ok? I don't want him hating me because my cousin knocked him out. And take good care of him…" She said as she went to follow Baralai. "Wait a minute. We are all in our PJ's!" Baralai looked down and realised Yuna was right and that he was only wearing his boxers. This made Yuna laugh as they both went to get changed.

Two minutes after Baralai and Yuna had changed and left, Tidus opened his eyes. His face felt numb and his head throbbed. But it wasn't a hangover throb. That's when he remembered what had happened.

"Fuck…" He rasped out as he put his hand to his face and felt an ice pack there. Holding onto it so that it wouldn't fall off, he sat up slowly.

"You could say that…" Paine grinned at him.

Tidus looked around and saw that no one else was in the room.

"Where is everyone?" He asked

"Gippal took Rikku for a cool-down walk and Baralai took Yuna down to the shop for a cup of tea.

"Shit!... Yuna!" Tidus went to stand up but promptly sat back down as his head throbbed. "Damn that girl can pack a punch!" He said, taking the ice off and feeling his bruised face. His cheek had been split and his nose was still bleeding a tiny bit. Paine handed him a towel that was already stained with blood. "Jesus. Is all this mine?" Tidus gestured towards the blood.

"Yeah. But don't worry; you're not the first one to be hit by Rikku. At least you and Gippal can share war stories now. And don't worry about Yuna. She's fine. She just needed to get some air. She was in tears with worry, you know. I haven't seen her like that in a while. The blood didn't help the matter either. I swear she thought you were dying." Paine gave a small smile and Tidus returned it.

"Well it sure felt like I was dying!" He replied. Paine laughed now, which was rare.

"Look, I think I owe you an explanation as to why Rikku reacted like she did." Paine sat down beside him on the couch. "It's something that we don't really talk about anymore, but it's still a _really_ sore point for Rikku; for all of us."

"Obviously…" Tidus added rubbing his cheek.

"Can I finish?" Paine raised her eyebrows.

"Sorry…" Tidus shut up after that and listened to the long story Paine had to tell.

"OK well it all started with Yuna's ex-boyfriend Seymour. They had been together for about a year. Things weren't going so well because Yuna was at Uni and Seymour wasn't. Yuna being Yuna, she was studying all the time. Seymour got tired of never being able to go out on the town with her and so he decided that he would start going without Yuna.

Yuna wasn't too happy about all this, but because she loved him, she let him. That's when she started to hear stories around the Uni that he was taking other girls home and stuff. He still used to come round here all the time, but he never stayed the night like he used to.

Then one day he came over and Yuna confronted him about the stories she had been hearing. He denied them of course, and insisted that he still loved her and he stayed the night. That night Rikku said she heard muffled screams and thumps coming from Yuna's room. I didn't hear anything because my room is on the other side of the hall, but Rikku's is right next door to Yuna's. Rikku laughed it off as the couple having make-up sex.

Anyway, in the morning Yuna never came down for breakfast, and seeing as it was a Uni day, that was really strange. Rikku and I both figured she was still in bed with that fucking arsehole, so we yelled goodbye and went to Uni. We didn't see her all day and when it hit 4pm, I told Rikku I was beginning to get worried because Yuna hadn't come to any of her lectures.

We both raced home and up to Yuna's room. I knocked and got no reply. So I opened the door and what I saw I will never forget. Yuna was curled up on the floor, her face was bruised all over and there were scratch marks on her face and arms. There was blood all over her sheets and her pyjamas. When she saw us, she just burst into tears.

It took Rikku and me hours to get her to tell us what had happened. It turned out that when they had gone to bed, Seymour had told her the truth: that he had been sleeping around but that he still wanted to sleep with her. She had refused him. He beat the living hell out of her and then raped her, Tidus." Paine finished and looked at Tidus whose face was unreadable. "That's why Rikku punched you. She shouldn't have done it, but maybe now you can understand why."

"Oh my god." Was all Tidus could say.

"That's not all of it." Paine said sadly.

"Fuck, there's more?" Tidus said with a surprised look at Paine.

"I wouldn't have told you, but Yuna told me to tell you everything. So…" Paine started not sure how to continue. Tidus just looked at her. Paine sighed and continued.

"Seymour hadn't used a condom. We took Yuna to the doctor and she got the morning after pill, and the doctor made her report it to the police, but it was too late. For both. Seymour had disappeared and Yuna was pregnant. It was so hard on Yuna. With no family nearby apart from Rikku, she had to make the decision on her own. I mean all her friends were there but it's not the kind of thing you let someone else decide. She had an abortion. She told us that even though the baby was half hers, it was also half Seymour's. I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to look at your child and see your rapist…" Paine finished. There wasn't much else she could say.

Tidus stood up and turned to face Paine.

"Where's this shop Yuna's at?" He asked. Paine gave him directions and, having nothing to change into, he walked out the door wearing the same thing he had been wearing the night before.

Paine could have sworn she saw the beginnings of tears in his eyes. Remembering that horrible day brought tears to her own eyes as well as she made her way upstairs and changed so she could follow Tidus down to the shop.

Tidus was running as fast as he could

_Fuck I'm such an idiot! _He cursed to himself. _Now I've really fucked things up. She probably won't even talk me. FUCK!_ He swore to himself again and ran faster. He had to see her. He had to apologise. He saw the shop ahead of him and without even slowing down, he busted through the door with an almighty crash.

"Yuna!" He yelled and looked around at the empty tables and chairs. "Fuck!" he cursed out loud this time and was just about to leave when Baralai came out from a door behind the counter.

"She's back here, Tidus." Baralai smiled at the distraught man and stepped aside so Tidus could walk through the door. Tidus bolted through the door into the back room to see Yuna sitting down at a small table. A cup of tea in her hands. She was wearing faded blue jeans and a baggy purple t-shirt. When she saw him she put the mug down and stood up.

"Tidus?" She said, barely audible. He quickly walked over to her and drowned her in the biggest hug Yuna had ever experienced.

"I'm so sorry." Tidus whispered in her ear.

This time Yuna hugged him back. She couldn't find the words to tell him that it was ok, because in her heart, it wasn't. She knew what Paine had told him. She knew why he was apologising. It wasn't his fault but she accepted his words and embraced him that little bit harder.

It was just like the night before. She felt safe in his arms; like he would never hurt her. For some reason she had never felt like that with Seymour. They stayed in each others arms for what seemed like eternity. Yuna cried and Tidus couldn't say that he hadn't shed a few tears for her. She was normally so strong but this was the second time she had been crying in his arms. He felt guilty, like he was bringing out her depressed side.

He wanted to make all her pain go away. He knew that that wasn't possible.

"Yuna, I'm so sorry. I'm such an idiot." Tidus said, pulling away and stroking the back of her head. Her hear was soft and smelled smoky from the night before. Yuna sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"It's not your fault, Tidus. It never was. I'm so sorry Rikku hit you…" She said as she gently touched his bruised cheek and looked at his now swollen eye. Tidus laughed.

"That's nothing…" He boasted but Yuna could tell he was joking.

"So… we're ok?" Yuna asked pointing to Tidus then pointing to herself.

"Of course!" Tidus hugged Yuna again. "But about last night…" He gently pushed Yuna back so he could look at her in the face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that. I was drunk and that's why I got cranky. I mean, you really did do the right thing. I'm glad you did, because if we had done anything, I would have regretted it in the morning."

"Regretted it?" Tidus pulled a questioning face.

"No, no! Nothing like that… It's just that, I mean.. It's not like me and well, I just…" Yuna tried to say what she meant but was having trouble.

Tidus laughed and hugged her for the third time. "I understand, babe. We should get to know each other first, yeah?" He asked her with a grin.

"Exactly." Yuna said with a nod. "Wait a minute… Did you just call me babe? Do you think I'm a babe?" Yuna asked. Before Tidus could answer, there was a commotion outside and they both heard Rikku's voice over everyone else's.

"Baralai, let me past, I need to see Yunie!" She whined.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Rik…" Baralai's reply came.

"Bah! Let me see her." Rikku shoved past Baralai and into the back room. She walked in and saw Yuna in Tidus' arms. She coughed quietly and they both turned around.

"I think I owe you both an apology… 'Specially you, Tidus…" She added shyly and looked at the floor. Tidus grinned at Yuna and let go of her. He walked over to Rikku and gave her a gentle but playful punch/nudge on the cheek.

"That's ok Rikku. I know why you did it." He said.

"You do?" Rikku looked at Yuna and Yuna nodded. Rikku then understood that he had been informed of the whole situation. Tidus nodded as well and Rikku brought her hand up to Tidus' face.

"You got a good shiner there… Who ever hit you musta had quite and arm…" She joked.

"Yeah well. If you see _him_, let _him_ know that I owe _him_ a punch in the face…" Tidus smirked and Rikku took a few steps back a giggled.

"So Yunie, everything's ok with us? Are you Ok?" Rikku asked walking over to her and placed her hands on Yuna's shoulders.

"Yeah, of course everything's ok. I know you only wanted to help me. And as long as everything's cool between you and Tidus." Yuna looked at Tidus and he nodded. Rikku looked shyly at the ground.

"Thanks, dude." Rikku said humbly.

"So…" Tidus said as he made his way between the two women and put his arms on both their shoulders. "What are we doing today?"

The second he had spoken, Paine walked through the door and looked at the threesome.

"Well, I spose you three have kissed and made up then?" She asked. Yuna looked at her and smiled.

"I'm gonna go ask the fellas what they wanna do today. Meet us out the front!" Tidus announced. He could tell that the girls needed some time to talk. He also wanted to ask Gippal if he had ever copped one as bad as he had from Rikku.

After he had walked out, Paine turned seriously to Yuna.

"You ok?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was ok from the start really. It was Psycho here that had the problem!" Yuna smiled and pointed at Rikku.

"Yeah I did go a bit crazy, didn't I?" Rikku began chewing a nail.

"A bit?" Paine asked as she raised one eyebrow comically.

"Ok, Maybe a lot. I did didn't I… I'm sorry Yuna…" She looked at Yuna through puppy-dog eyes and Yuna laughed.

"That's ok, you just have to buy Tidus and me lunch."

"Deal!" Yelled Rikku and punched the air. "Maccas it is then!"

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_A/N: I know this chappy sorta fizzled out in the end, but the next chappy will come soon. I have to think about where this is going. Thanks for the reviews guys! Love you all!_


	9. Who knew Macca's could hurt so much?

_A/N: Wh00t! Another chappy! And how dramatic is this one? I'd say very. Well ok maybe just a bit, but it is a foreshadowing of what's to come!... Dun-dun DUUUUNNNN…. Kekeke. Anways, you heard the man, and you know the drill, assholes and elbows! (In English: read and review please!)_

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**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

The funny thing was that everyone thought Rikku was joking. Twenty minutes later, though, when they were all sitting in the dining area of McDonalds, they knew she wasn't.

"You're so cheap Rikku…" Paine said blandly, voicing everyone else's opinions.

"Hey I'm a Uni student _and_ I'm in a band. What more can you expect?" Rikku said as she took a bite out of her burger.

"Hey, Maccas is fine by me. I used to live on this stuff!" Tidus piped in.

The six of them were sitting around the table, all finishing their meals. Tidus had finished first; he had scoffed his down in about 2 minutes. He sat quietly and listened to the other talk about stuff and watched Yuna as she ate.

Everything she did was beautiful. Somehow she even made filling your mouth with 6 Macca's fries look wonderful. He watched as she listened to the other talk and every now and then added her own 2 cents to the conversation. Sometimes she spoke with a mouthful of food, but Tidus didn't even mind that. It was the little things like that that made him like her more. She was truly something special.

As he watched her, she got bored with the conversation (as it had become an insult match between Rikku and Paine, with Rikku losing fast), and began to stare out the window. Suddenly her eyes widened and her face lost all its colour. Tidus turned around to look where she was looking, but saw nothing. She was looking out in the car park, but there was no one there. He looked back at her questioningly.

"Are you alright Yuna?" He asked, getting everyone's attention as it was the first time he had said anything in a while. Yuna was silent for a moment, but never took her eyes off the car park outside.

"We need to leave." Her voice came out no louder then a whisper. "Now." She added and began to stand up. She still hadn't taken her eyes from whatever it was she was looking at. It was this time that everyone else looked outside to see whatever it was Yuna was seeing.

"Fuck!" Gippal said as he stood up. "Rikku, Paine; take Yuna into the little ladies room. She hasn't got time to do anything else. Baralai, Tidus and I will stay out here. Ill buzz your phone when it's safe to come out." Gippal spoke to Rikku as she stood and Paine followed her. All three girls made their way quickly over to the ladies restrooms before Tidus could say anything.

He turned to Gippal, who was now sitting back down with a very serious look on his face.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked.

"Seymour…" Baralai replied with a nod of his head towards the car park. Tidus looked and saw a man standing beside a dark blue Porsche. Standing next to him was a petite blonde girl. She would have been smaller than Rikku (if that was possible) and Tidus thought she might have left half her skirt at home it was so short. He then looked back at the man and studied his features.

He was tall, and older by perhaps 5 years. He had a slim face, but unbelievably broad shoulders. His eyes were dark, and because he was a fair distance away, they looked almost black. His hair was long, shoulder length at its longest. It looked kind of like a mullet and was gelled backwards at the front. It was a blackish grey colour, almost blue.

Even if he didn't know that this guy was Seymour, Yuna's rapist, he still would have thought he looked like a creep.

As the three men watched him, it looked like he was shouting at the girl. She was shouting back and waving her arms all over the place.

"But Paine said he disappeared." Tidus dragged his gaze away from the scene outside and looked at the other two.

"Well, not exactly…" Gippal answered.

"Paine told me what she told you," Baralai continued "And it's not entirely true. They did catch him. There was a trial. But they only got him on the assault, not the rape. Some bullshit about there not being enough evidence, and Yuna wanting it."

"But why didn't Paine tell me that?" Tidus asked.

"Because she didn't want you to think Yuna was lying. If she'd told you they couldn't prove it… well I dunno. That's just Paine." Gippal answered for Baralai.

All three now looked back out the window. Just as they all started watching, the small girl (who would have been about 18) shoved Seymour. He yelled something at her and grabbed her by the shoulders, slamming her into the side of the car. Tidus stood up with a growl but Gippal grabbed his arm.

"Don't go there, man. It's not your business." Gippal held firmly onto Tidus. Tidus whipped his head around and shot him an evil glare.

"And what about what he did to Yuna? Whose business is that?" He hissed. Baralai spoke then.

"Tidus, be reasonable. He's twice the size of you. If Rikku can knock you out then there's no hope if you try to…" Baralai started but stopped when Tidus angrily ripped his arm out of Gippal's grip.

"Look, you guys do what ever you wanna do. I don't care who it is or what they've done, no one deserves to be treated like that. What he did to Yuna only makes it worse!" He said bitterly and walked towards the door.

"Fuck. Shit. Mother fu…" Gippal started swearing, but Baralai stood up.

"Gippal, call Rikku. Tell them to get out here. Maybe they can talk some sense into him. I'll go with Tidus and try to keep things under control." Baralai began after Tidus.

Gippal didn't bother getting his phone out, he just ran into the girls toilet.

Tidus reached the door and threw it open. Marching over towards Seymour and the girl, he shouted.

"Hey buddy, You wanna leave that girl alone?" His loud and menacing voice drew the attention of Seymour and the girl. It also made the customers who were sitting in the outside eating area look up from where they had previously been trying to ignore the quarreling couple.

"Mind your own fucking business, punk!" Seymour snapped back. By this stage Tidus was not far from them and Baralai was on his heals.

"Come on Tidus, just let it go." He pleaded but Tidus ignored him, and saw only red.

_Punk? I'll give you fucking puck, you rapist. You'll pay for what you did._ Tidus thought as he stormed up to Seymour.

"Lay another finger on her and I'll lay my fist in your face." Tidus said simply. Before Seymour could answer they both heard a call coming from behind Tidus. Both men turned around and saw the three girls and Gippal running towards them, with Yuna in the lead.

"Tidus, don't! You must stop!" She half yelled as she ran up to him and grabbed his arm, trying to drag him away.

"Oh, so this is your new toy-boy?" Seymour spoke to Yuna then looked back at Tidus. "You gotta watch out for her. The lying slut might bite your balls off!" he hissed.

Tidus made to move towards him but Yuna, who was still holding onto his arm, pulled him back.

"Tidus, no." She said simply. Tidus narrowed his eyes at Seymour and backed off. Turning to Yuna he smiled and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Ok." he said with a smile. Yuna let go of his arm and smiled back. "But I would have really liked to have knocked that butt-pirate down on his arse…" Yuna smiled but then yelped as Tidus was dragged away from her.

Seymour had him by the hair and dragged him back a few paces away from Yuna.

"No-one calls me a fucking 'butt-pirate' and gets away with it, fag-boy!" Seymour growled.

Tidus knew he was in trouble. He suddenly felt exceedingly angry at the nerve that Seymour was showing. Knowing he was going to get hit, he relaxed his body. In the spilt second that followed he saw Gippal and Baralai stepping forward to help, Rikku with a dazed look on her face and struggling to hold Paine back as Paine was also trying to get at Seymour. Tidus turned to face Seymour and saw him raise his fist. It all happened in slow motion.

Seymour was left handed and his left fist was now making a path right towards Tidus' face. Tidus just let it go. It connected, but this time because Tidus was ready for it, he moved so that it didn't hit as hard as it should have. He didn't feel the pain because by this time the adrenalin was controlling his body. The impact, however, shoved him backwards, and made him turn away from Seymour.

He looked at Yuna and mouthed 'I'm sorry', took a deep breath and lifted his leg.

The onlookers watched everything, not knowing what to do, but what Tidus did next shocked them all. They all saw his lips moving but only Yuna knew what he had said. Just like it was second nature to him, Tidus threw his leg around in a perfectly executed roundhouse kick. The heel of his boot connected with Seymour's cheek and a sound of utter pain escaped Seymour's lips.

Seymour flew backwards and slammed into his car, dinting the immaculate body work.

Tidus landed the kick and put his hand up to his not bleeding face.

"Fucking he-bitch…" He mumbled to himself, then looked up. Everyone was staring at him, mouths a-gape, eyes wide. No one said anything and you could have heard a pin drop.

"Um… Sorry…" Tidus finally said to everyone.

After a few moments of silence, the first person to speak was Seymour's girlfriend.

"Thank-you" She said quietly. Tidus turned to face her. She was kneeling on the ground beside Seymour's limp body. "But you had better leave before he wakes up. This could get really ugly." She looked up at Tidus and he could tell that she really was grateful.

"You know, you don't have to stay with him." Tidus said as the others joined him.

"It would be worse if I left." She looked knowingly at Yuna with eyes filled with an unreadable, but not aggressive, emotion. Yuna nodded and took Tidus by the arm.

"Come on, she's right. Let's just go home and have some tea and get you cleaned up." Yuna smiled as Tidus nodded in agreement.

After much hassling and arguing, they had figured out a way to get all their cars from the club and get back to the girls house.

They were all sitting around the lounge room with mugs of tea and coffee, chatting. Tidus, now with two busted cheeks, was laying on the couch with Yuna sitting on the floor in front of him. Tidus had to resist the urge to stroke her hair or kiss her neck like a man who is dying of thirst in the middle of the ocean must will away the urge to drink the seawater.

Suddenly he was pulled out of his daydream when he heard Rikku say his name.

"So Tidus, where on gods green planet did you learn to kick like that? I mean, that was pretty impressive…" Rikku said as she looked at the others and they nodded in agreement. Even Yuna nodded and turned to face him as he answered. Tidus scratched the back of his head.

"I did karate when I was a kid. My mum was Japanese and I thought it would be a good way to get to know a bit of her culture, since dad didn't seem to care…" His voice trialed off like he had said too much. Truth be told, he would have kept going – he wanted to keep going – he just wasn't sure that these people he had only known a few day would want to hear his life story. Yuna looked at him.

_He said was… His mum –was- Japanese?_ Yuna thought. _All this time he has been asking me if I want to talk and I haven't even thought of asking him. I'm so selfish._ She gave him an apologetic look and he seemed to understand when he continued.

"I'll tell you more about it later," He looked at Yuna and then at the others. "But right now, lets change the subject coz its making my face hurt to think about it." Tidus raised both his hands to his busted cheeks and pulled a face. This got a laugh out of everyone.

Rikku started asking Paine something but Tidus wasn't really listening. Yuna smiled at him and blinked slowly. He smiled back and felt a wave of tiredness drift over him. He blinked back, but never opened his eyes. He fell fast asleep with the image of Yuna's beautiful smile etched into his eyelids...

* * *

_A?N: Well thats another chappy out of the way. I know I didnt leave this one on a cliffy, but hey. I cant always leave you in suspense. Next chappy coming sooon to a near you! _


	10. Ice Queen

_A/N: Ok, lotsa important notes for this chappy. Firstly, I would like to state that I hate song-fics. I never read the lyrics people write in the chappys. I always just read what ever song it is and then find it and listen to it. I can't stand it when ppl put lyrics into the main body of chapters. But! To contradict myself, I have done exactly that. I need to explain this a bit and stuff… Ok:_

_1) I didn't write these lyrics or the song, that can be claimed by "Within Temptation" – A wicked dutch goth band, kinda like Evanessence._

_2) I HIGHLY recommend that any fans of FFX/FFX2 goto the website on my profile (its listed as my homepage)and download this AWESOME music video. The song is called Ice Queen. For those of you who can't d'l video for whatever reason, then get a copy of this song no matter what the cost._

_3) I think putting the lyrics in here is ok because it's Yuna singing and not just some song playing on the radio and I didn't do it in normal poem form that takes up a million pages.… _

_Well that's my excuse anyway. I hope you guys don't mind. Anyway, that's about it. Enjoy._

* * *

**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

Tidus slowly opened his eyes. The room was dark and a beautiful smell teased his nostrils into waking him up fully.

Feeling a little bit disorientated, he sat up and ran his hand through his hair. The blinds in the living room had been closed and there was a small lamp on in the corner of the room casting a faint orange glow over the room. Tidus scratched the back of his head and looked around. He saw Yuna in the kitchen and then he remembered where he was and what had happened that day. He stood up and walked quietly over to where Yuna was standing. Whatever she was cooking, it smelled delicious.

Yuna turned and saw Tidus. Instead of jumping, like a normal person would when they turn to find someone standing where there previously wasn't anyone, she simply smiled.

"Morning, Sunshine." She said.

"Hey." Tidus said sheepishly with a small wave of his hand. "What's cooking? It smells great." He leaned over so he could see into the pot on the stove.

"Spaghetti. It's nothing special, but I made enough for you if you wanted to stay for dinner. I mean, that's if you don't have any other plans…" Yuna asked as she blushed a little and turned back to stir the pot.

Tidus smiled and walked slowly up behind her until his chest was touching her back. He put his arms around her shoulders and rested his head against hers.

"I love to stay for dinner." He said quietly into her ear. Yuna closed her eyes and let go of the spoon into the pot. Her hands fell to her sides and she gently leaned backwards into him.

Yuna was scared to breathe. She was frightened that if she moved, she would wake up and find this all to be dream. She could feel his warm steady breaths on her neck and they in turn sent a warm rush through her entire body. His arms around her were so gentle yet so protective. His presence permeated her very existence. Sshe began to feel her knees wobble and she remembered she hadn't taken a breath. She slowly exhaled and drew in a long, silent breath.

As Tidus put his arms around Yuna's shoulders, his heart was going a million miles a minute.

_Breathe, Tidus. Just breathe. What's the worst that could happen?_ Tidus asked himself as he concentrated on his breathing and closed his eyes. One breath at a time. _Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in…_ He repeated this over and over until he felt Yuna lean against him; his breaths came naturally to him then. It was almost as if having Yuna in his arms was actually helping him to breathe.

Once Tidus was free to think about other things besides his own breathing, he realized that Yuna wasn't breathing. As soon as he had realized, she let out a long sigh and drew in an even longer breath. Tidus smiled to himself and opened his eyes.

Yuna was breathing normally now but was still feeling giddy. She hadn't felt like this in a long time.

_In fact, I don't think I have ever felt like this_. She thought to herself.

"You know," Tidus' voice broke her thoughts and turned her head slightly towards his in acknowledgment. "The sauce is gonna burn if you don't stir it soon…" Tidus laughed softly and let go of Yuna's shoulders.

Yuna turned around and gave him a spoil-the-mood-why-don't-you kinda look and then turned around and started stirring again.

15 minutes later, Yuna had finished cooking and Tidus had set the table. They were both halfway through their meals when Tidus suddenly realized that there was no one else around.

"Where is everyone?" He asked. Yuna laughed and finished her mouthful.

"I was wondering when you would notice there was no one else around. Rikku is at Gippal's and Paine is at Baralai's. You slept through a lot of conversation." Yuna replied.

"Well, do tell!" Tidus pushed the last bit of spaghetti around his plate, getting somewhat frustrated that it wouldn't obey his wishes and get onto his fork. Yuna smiled and began to relay the afternoon's conversations.

"Well, it turns out Paine and Baralai are now together; not that that wasn't totally obvious… Um, and I spose the rest of the conversation could be summed up in that everyone was very impressed, if somewhat surprised, by what you did to Seymour today and then Rikku went on to guessing what it was that you weren't telling us, then they made me promise that I would get it out of you, then I told them I'd only ask you if no-one else was here, that's when they decided to go to the guys' houses. Then I had a shower, then I started to cook dinner, and now here we are." Yuna finished and looked down at her spaghetti, which was almost finished.

"And what a delicious dinner it was!" Tidus said as he pushed his chair out and stretched, then rubbed his belly. Yuna laughed and finished what was left on her plate.

"Speaking of showers… I should probably go home and have one soon. I think I'm a bit on the nose." Tidus lifted his shirt and sniffed it. He looked up and saw disappointment, of all things, on Yuna's face. He smiled at her "But I can come back and keep you company if you like…" He said in an asking tone.

"That would be nice." Yuna replied and she stood up and picked up Tidus' plate.

"But I'll do the dishes first." Tidus jumped up and took the dishes out of Yuna's hand. Yuna laughed and walked with him to the kitchen.

"Only if I do the drying." Yuna looked at Tidus and he knew there would be no way to refuse her.

Later that night, Yuna was sitting alone on the sofa with a notebook in her hand. It was her lyrics book and she was scribbling carefully in it. Tidus had been gone for about an hour and it was now at least 9 o'clock. Yuna wasn't working on the song she had promised the Student association at Uni, instead she had had a wave of inspiration while she had been sitting quietly in her darkened sitting room, and finished a song that she had started ages ago. She was sitting, half humming, half singing it when she was pulled from her trance.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and she put the book down on the coffee table and went to open the door. She opened it and Tidus stood before her. He was dressed in jeans and a baggy shirt and was carrying his yellow helmet.

"Hey, I was just thinking about you." Yuna said as she motioned for Tidus to come in.

"You were? Were they good thoughts?" Tidus walked inside, put his helmet on the dining table and walked into the sitting room.

"Yes, they were, but I'll tell you in a minute, I just have to go to the little ladies room. Make yourself at home" Yuna said as she went upstairs to her bathroom.

Tidus sat on the lounge and looked around for the TV remote. As he was looking, he saw a little brown book on the table. He knew she shouldn't look at it, but he just couldn't help it. It had been placed on the table folded open to a page but it was face down.

Tidus picked it up and began to read the words. As he read, he was captivated by what was written there. He finished reading the lines but didn't take his eyes off the pages.

"Do you like it?" Tidus was ripped from his daze by Yuna's voice and looked up to see her standing above him. He face twisted in apology and he quicky shut the book and put it down on the table.

"Sorry! I didn't… I mean not all of them… It was…" Tidus stumbled over the words as he wasn't sure what he should say. Finally he gave in.

"I love it." He said as Yuna sat down beside him and picked up the book. She opened it to the page Tidus had read and read some of the words to herself. "But it's really sad. Who's it about?" Tidus asked.

"Me." Yuna replied and looked up. Tidus gave her a disbelieving look. "Let me explain." Yuna put the book down on the table. "I wrote it just after the… incident… with Seymour. I was going through a really dark patch. It was like there was a second me. And I spose that's what this song's all about. The evil me. Not even the girls have read this. I had it all written except for the last verse. I wrote that tonight, while you were gone…" Her voice trailed off.

"Sing it for me." Tidus looked at her when he said this. She looked back at him and blushed.

"I couldn't, I mean, not without music… I just..." Yuna tried to talk Tidus out of wanting to hear it. Yuna's hand rested on the sofa between herself and Tidus. Before he spoke, Tidus moved closer to Yuna and placed his hand over hers.

"Please, Yuna? I really wanna hear it." He asked sincerely.

Yuna sighed and looked at him. "Ok, but its not going to be as good without the music." Tidus said nothing and Yuna closed her eyes and began humming a sad tune. Then she started singing.

"When leaves have fallen and skies turned to grey, the night keeps on closing in on the day. A nightingale sings his song of farewell. You better hide from her freezing hell.

On cold wings she's coming, you better keep moving. For warmth you'll be longing. Come on just feel it. Don't you see it? You better believe.

When she embraces your heart turns to stone. She comes at night when you're all alone and when she whispers your blood shall run cold. You better hide before she finds you.

Whenever she is raging she takes all life away. Haven't you seen? Haven't you seen the ruins of our world?

Whenever she is raging she takes all life away. Haven't you seen? Haven't you seen the ruins of our world?

She covers the earth with a breathtaking cloak. The sun awakes and melts it away. The world now opens its eyes and sees the dawning of a new day.

On cold wings she's coming, you better keep moving. For warmth you'll be longing. Come on just feel it. Don't you see it? You better believe.

Whenever she is raging she takes all life away. Haven't you seen? Haven't you seen the ruins of our world."

Yuna finished the song and hung her head. Tidus still had his hand on hers and as he stared painfully at her saddened face, a tear escaped her closed eyes and ran slowly down her cheek. Tidus had never seen so much emotion put into a song before. It was beautifully sad and he hated her and loved her for it at the same time.

Tidus reached his hand up and turned Yuna's face towards his. With her face still downcast, he bent his head, leaned in and, in the hope of making all her pain fade away, kissed her deeply on the lips.

* * *

_A/N: Just coz you asked for it! A big thanks to all my reviewers. Especially: Rubymuto, rollercoaster217, Kurama'slil'Neko, and Dream Crazy. You guys rock!_


	11. Establishing Things

_A/N: Ok so this chappy took a bit longer than expected. I actually wrote the whole thing and then decided I didn't like it… So I wrote it again. This one is heaps better than what I wrote before. Oh and for those of you who are interested, the links don't show up in here so here's the link, _

_www dot ffinsider dot net / ffx2 / mvideo dot php _

_Anways, read and enjoy (or not) but review either way. _

* * *

**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

Her cheeks flushed and his once warm hands now felt chilled against her hot face. Tidus had kissed his fare share of girls, but it was never like this. Yuna was like no other girl he had ever met. So many different things attracted Tidus to her. She was a strong minded person, but at the same time, she was fragile and gentle. She was beautiful on the outside, but her looks paled in comparison to her wonderful spirit.

Tidus' heart ached for her and all the pain she had been though. As he kissed her she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He let go of her face and wrapped his arms around her waist. He reflected the words of her song as he kissed her.

_When she embraces your heart turns to stone…_ Tidus thought._ Well that's certainly not true._ He was distracted from his thoughts when Yuna pulled away from the kiss and looked away from him. He brought his own hands back to his lap. Suddenly he regretted kissing her. What if she hadn't really wanted it?

"Yuna, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I was just…" He was stopped when Yuna turned around to face him and placed a finger on his lips.

"Don't be sorry." She told him. She smiled now and Tidus couldn't help but smile back. "I'm not sorry." She said as she stroked his cheek gently with her fingers. Tidus returned the gesture and Yuna closed her eyes.

"It's the strangest thing." Yuna said as she opened her eyes again.

"What is?" Tidus asked.

"I have known you for a total of, what, three days? And I feel like I have known you all my life. Like I could tell you anything. It's the strangest feeling." Yuna looked at Tidus and his look went from somewhat confused to a shy smile. "So did you like my song?"

"I loved it. But…" Tidus started.

"But what?" Yuna asked with a hint of fear. She had just poured her heart out to Tidus and she wasn't sure she would be able to take it if he did like it.

"It's just that… I dunno. It just doesn't seem like you, ya know? Its way to… um… well, sad, to be you." Tidus tried to find the words he was looking for but wasn't having much luck.

"You weren't there back then." Yuna said sadly as she looked down at her hands that were now folded in her lap.

Tidus watched her but didn't know what to do. He wanted all of Yuna's pain to go away. He knew it wasn't that simple and she was right, he had only just met her and hadn't known her when all this had happened. He silently cursed himself for not knowing her longer; not that there was anything that he could have done about that.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Yuna asked. Tidus realized he had been staring at her, but not really seeing anything. He was too annoyed at himself for only having just come into Yuna's life. Maybe if he had known her back then, none of this would have happened…

"Hey? Yo! Tidus? Any one home?" Yuna laughed softly as she waved her hand in front of his face.

Tidus reached up and took her and gently in his. "I'm sorry, I was just… I'm just sorry." He said and looked down at her hand in his as he softly stroked it with his thumb.

Yuna looked at her hand and then back at Tidus' face.

"Sorry for what?" She asked.

"Sorry that… I'm sorry that I wasn't there when all that shit happened." Tidus jerked his head to look down at the floor below the couch. He was starting to get angry but he couldn't figure out what he was angry at.

Yuna looked at him. Was that anger she saw? Sadness? She didn't want to make him either angry or sad.

_Why am I feeling like this? I hardly know the guy... But he seems so genuine. I wish he had been there back then. Maybe all this wouldn't have happened. But he can't help that. And besides,_ She came to a conclusion, _He's here now._

Without even thinking she got up and straddled Tidus. She had her legs bent under with one knee on either side of his hips. She sat her bum down in his lap and took his some-what dazed and confused face in her hands.

_I can't believe I'm doing this. But I need him to know its ok. I need him to know that he's here now, and that's all I need._ Yuna thought.

_Oh my god… Yuna's on top of me… Oh my god, oh my god, ok, stay calm, you are NOT going to take this too far. Not tonight. Think of something else… Something ugly, like, um, grandma's undies… Grandma's undies, Grandma's…_Tidus' thoughts suddenly disappeared and he mind was sent reeling into an abyss of pleasure.

Yuna took a deep breath and lent forward. She kissed Tidus like she had never kissed any one before. She had never needed any one like she had needed Tidus right at that moment.

She pushed herself onto him passionately, pressing herself against him. After the initial shock wore off, Tidus began to kiss her back, equally as fervently. He grabbed her waist and pulled it closer to him so that their hips were touching. This movement elicited a small moan from Yuna as she deepened the kiss by putting her hands on his shoulders and pressing him hard against the back of the sofa and pressing hander on his lips.

Yuna's quiet noises sent shivers down Tidus' spine. With his hands still on Yuna's hips, he could feel her breathing get faster. He slipped his hands up under her shirt and stroked her sides softly. Her skin was soft and warm under his touch. As he continued his caressing he began to feel goose bumps forming. This made him smile into the kiss and gave him more confidence.

He gently grabbed her hips and lifted her slightly. Without breaking the kiss, he twisted his own body. He laid Yuna on her back on the couch and leaned over her.

Yuna giggled into the kiss as they tried to get comfortable in the small amount of space that the sofa offered. After a few attempts, Tidus finally gave up and looked impishly down at Yuna.

"This isn't going to work here, is it?" He asked.

"No." She replied. 'No, it's not." She leaned up and gently pushed Tidus off her. She stood up and held out her hands to Tidus. He took them and she pulled him up.

She began to walk backwards towards the stairs and when Tidus saw where she was headed, he smiled beautifully and bent forward to kiss her. As they made their way clumsily up the stairs, Yuna still going backwards, she ran her hands under Tidus' shirt. Still kissing him, she was surprised to find that he was really well built, though not that you would notice it through his clothes. She lightly ran her nails over his abs and chest, drawing out a groan of pleasure from Tidus.

As they got to her room, having not stopped kissing, Tidus reached behind Yuna and opened the door. While Tidus was doing this, Yuna decided it was time Tidus lost his shirt. She lifted it up and he raised his arms to allow it to be removed.

Yuna closed the door behind them and dropped the shirt onto the floor just as they reached the bed. Tidus kept walking forwards, forcing Yuna to sit on the bed when the backs of her knees hit the edge.

Tidus stood and looked down at her as she lay there smiling softly. Yuna looked up at his bare chest and simply admired the view. He really was gorgeous.

She held her hands out to him and he took them. She pulled them gently towards her and he followed suit.

Kneeling on top of her, he reached down and slowly went to take off Yuna's shirt. Yuna lifted her arms in acceptance as a tinge of pink blushed her cheeks. Tidus now looked down at Yuna's bare chest, her pink lace bra rising and falling quickly as she breathed. Tidus wanted to throw himself at her, to take her there and then, but he knew he couldn't. He wouldn't be doing that, not tonight.

"Fuck you're beautiful, Yuna." Tidus' voice sounded to Yuna's ears, dispersing any of her insecurities with just four simple words. He bent down and began kissing her again. He could feel Yuna's warm body beneath his as skin touched skin. He ran one hand down her side, greedily taking in every inch of exposed skin that he could.

Likewise, Yuna's hands explored across Tidus' back and abs. She wanted him so badly. She had never wanted someone so much. She needed to be as close as physically possible to him. This was so uncharacteristic of her. Since Seymour, she hadn't made a move on anyone, afraid of the consequences, but, for some reason, Tidus was different.

She ran her hands down his abs she came to the hem of his jeans and was instantly frustrated that something was stopping her from exploring further. As Tidus continued to kiss her lips and neck, Yuna managed to blindly undo his belt and jeans and push them down as far as she could reach. Tidus kicked them the rest of the way off.

Tidus, just in his boxers now, looked at her and smiled. He couldn't believe her brashness and knew that he would have to end this soon if he had any hope of controlling himself. Yuna's thought were pretty much the same. She couldn't believe she was throwing herself at him. It must have made her look like some kind of slut. She frowned at his smile and turned away, suddenly disgusted at herself.

Tidus' smile faded as he saw the look on Yuna's face. He instantly got off her lay down beside her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked as he reached over and tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear. Yuna voiced her thoughts and Tidus' actually laughed.

"Don't laugh at me!" She said, angry and embarrassed; feeling vulnerable.

Tidus shuffled as close as he could to her, so that their bodies were touching, and turned her face to look at him.

"Yuna, I would never think that of you. If anything, you should be thinking that of me!" Tidus counted as he thought about the situation.

"What! No! I don't think that. You've been nothing but nice to me. Christ, you even beat up my ex!" Yuna lent up on her elbow to get a better look at Tidus' and to emphasis her point. She really didn't think that of Tidus and was shocked that he would even say that. "I don't think that at all!"

"Right…" Tidus smiled at the situation, "So we've established that, while both of us feel like sluts, neither of think the other is." Yuna smiled at this.

"Right!" She answered with determination.

"Maybe we should call it a night then. Pick up where we left off another night…" Tidus suggested.

"Is that a promise?" Yuna whispered through a smile.

"Of course." Tidus answered.

"Will you stay?" Yuna put a questioning hand on Tidus' arm.

"Is that such a good idea? I mean, I only have so many cheeks to punch, and I've yet to get one from Paine…" he absent mindedly raised his hand to his face to feel his bruised cheeks.

"Bah, humbug to them." Yuna got up and locked the door. "If they go psycho, we'll just explain to them through the door." Yuna smiled as she flicked off the light. The room went black instantly.

Tidus waited for to feel Yuna getting onto the bed but it took longer than it should have. Finally he felt the bed move and heard Yuna get under the blankets. His eyes were slowly becoming adjusted to the dark and he could just make out Yuna's shape. She was on her side facing away from him.

Tidus scooted under the blankets and shuffled over so that he was nestled against Yuna's back. When his legs touched hers, he realized what had taken her so long. Skin touched skin and Tidus noted that she had taken her jeans off.

_Well duh,_ he thought, _Who would want to sleep in jeans…_

Tidus snaked an arm around her waist she held onto his hand. He could feel her breathing slowly calm down until he was sure she was asleep.

"Tidus…?" She whispered.

"Mm?" His reply was little more that a sleepy moan.

"You're here now." She replied.

Confused, Tidus furrowed his brows. Yuna took his silence as him being confused and spoke again.

"You said you were sorry… for not being there… but that doesn't matter, because you're here now." She whispered into the darkness.

Tidus smiled warmly into Yuna's hair but he knew she wouldn't be able to see, so, in acknowledgment of what she had said, he pulled her closer to him and hugged her tightly. In return, she squeezed his hand closely to her and they both fell asleep, nestled in each others arms.

* * *


	12. Eggs, bacon and beer

_A/N: Ok, I know this is late but I actually have a legitimate reason this time. And here it is:_

_IM MOVING TO JAPAN! OMG! I know! I'm so excited! The past month has involved interviews and then getting a job teaching English to kiddies in Japan. (Teaching English I hear you ask? But your stories are FULL of crappy English, and poor spelling) yes I know, but you all have to understand that I do this for fun, I don't proof read it and I write most of it at, like, 3 in the morning so there's my lame excuse for my shonky English So yeh, I leave for Nagoya on 25 days (not that I'm counting…) I hope to have to story finished by then, it will be an update every few days to achieve this! That's why the end of this chappy is a bit crap. But they will get better, I promise! I'm not sure if I will have a puter in Japan, so I won't be updating after I leave, at least not for a while. I'm going to miss everyone! But on the plus side, i will be in the LAND of FF! AGhhghghh drool... So many pretty final fantasy things..._

* * *

**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

The morning came too soon for Yuna and Tidus. Yuna slowly blinked her eyes open at the sounds and smells coming from downstairs.

_Sunday morning…_Yuna thought. _Bacon and eggs…_ Yuna smiled. It had been a household tradition with the girls to have bacon and eggs every Sunday morning and talk about the week just gone. _But Rikku and Paine were out last night… They wouldn't be home already… Would they?_ Yuna turned to look at her clock.

"Oh my god! It's one in the afternoon!" She sat straight up and rubbed her eyes. "How could I possibly have slept so late!" _Oh my god! I was going to try and sneak Tidus home before the girls came home! Crap. Now I'll never be able to get… _Yuna's thoughts stopped instantly as she turned to look at Tidus only to realize he wasn't there!

She jumped up and looked around for his clothes but they weren't there either.

_Goddamn it!_ She thought as she threw on one of her tank tops. _I can't believe he left without saying goodbye._ She threw her door open and growled to herself.

"The next time I see you I'm going to rip your nuts off, I swear…" She grumbled to herself as she stomped down the stairs.

"Geez… I hope I'm not there to see that!" a voice interrupted her thoughts as looked up from the floor she'd been talking to.

"Tidus?" Yuna stopped and looked at him. "You're still here?"

"Well duh… Wait a minute… You didn't think that…" There was a silence from Yuna. "You did! You did think I had left!" Tidus instinctively covered his crotch with his hands.

"Well I woke up and you weren't there. Neither were your clothes!" Yuna said sheepishly.

"Neither are yours…" Paine added. Yuna was suddenly aware of the other people in the house. She looked at Paine who was standing by the stove with an egg flip in her hand, a smirk on her face. "We, uh, we have guests, Yuna." Paine looked over to the table where Tidus was sitting and Yuna followed her gaze. Sitting next to Tidus was Rikku and sitting next to her was Gippal. Next to Gippal was Baralai. They all grinned at her and Yuna looked down and remembered she was basically in her underwear. She turned scarlet red and looked back at the group at the table.

"Afternoon princess!" Gippal gave her a mock salute. Rikku smacked his shoulder.

"Don't make it _more_ embarrassing for her! Yunie, you should probably go and put some pants on though…" Rikku looked back at Yuna and grinned.

"Yeah… I, um… I'll be right back…" Yuna turned around and walked quickly towards the stairs, a huge embarrassed grin on her face. As she made her way up the stairs, she heard everyone downstairs burst out laughing.

"Shut up!" She yelled down the stairs, trying not to laugh herself. The others just laughed harder.

When she came back down to join them, she was fully clothes in board shorts and the same tank top she had put on to start with. She took the seat next to Tidus grinned sheepishly at everyone.

"Good afternoon, Beautiful." Tidus leaned over and kissed Yuna on the cheek.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Yuna asked.

"You just looked so peaceful. I didn't have the heart. Plus I know what happens when you wake up a chick who doesn't want to wake up!" He gave a knowing glance to Gippal and Baralai. Gippal nodded.

"Amen to that!" He said, warranting a smack from Rikku. Baralai smiled and covered his mouth with his hand.

"Don't even think about it, buddy!" Paine waved the egg flip at him menacingly, flinging a few spots of food in his direction. "Anyway, lunch is ready." Paine served up the eggs and bacon onto a plate and took it to the table.

Everyone thanked her and began to serve themselves food.

"I was wondering why you were making bacon and eggs so late in the day."

"Well, we got home a couple of hours ago and we can't miss our Sunday B and E session!" Rikku explained between mouthfuls of food.

Lunch went by without a hitch. Everyone had helped clean up and when everything was done, Gippal went to the stereo and put on a CD. The music was soft but rock at the same time. Good ambient music.

Tidus took a moment to look at his new friends. He had never had trouble fitting it. He had always been somewhat popular. Before he had moved here, he hadn't really had a 'posse' so to speak. He just sort of hung with everyone. But this felt much better. Rikku, Gippal, Paine and Baralai had become his friends. And Yuna…

_Well… Where do I start with her… She's.. Well, she's Yuna._

"Tidus!" A voice broke his thoughts and he looked at Yuna and realized she was waving something in his face. "I saaaiid, do you want a beer?" Tidus saw the beer in her hand and grabbed it. Actually, it was just what he felt like.

The six of them all headed out the back door of the house into the yard. Tidus had never been out there and to be honest he hadn't even thought they had a back yard. There was a big tree and under it were a table and some chairs. There were a few odd little garden statues that Tidus figured were either Yuna or Rikku's idea. He doubted that Paine was into gnomes…

_Then again… With Paine,_ He looked at her and her odd attire, _who knows…_

Across from the tree, there was a small swimming pool with an artificial waterfall at one end. The cascading water sent glittering ripples across the pool.

They all sat at the table and it was only now that Tidus realized that they all had beers as well.

"What a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon." Rikku's cheery voice echoed everyone's thoughts as they relaxed and chatted the afternoon away.

After his fifth beer, Tidus looked at the table and realized it was littered with bottles. Everyone else had probably had about the same, and by the way Gippal was looking Rikku, he had probably had a few more.

"Where's all this beer coming from? Do you want me to give you some money for it?" Tidus suddenly added to the conversation.

Everyone laughed at this and Tidus felt strangely left out. He must have pouted because everyone seemed to laugh more.

"Gippal works at a bottle-o, and the owner has a crush on him." Yuna said finally.

"She does not. They are gifts coz I work so hard…" Gippal tried to counter what Yuna had said and ease Rikku's steadily growing anger.

"She _so_ does, Gip. And you flirting with her all the time doesn't help…" Rikku said pointing a finger at him.

"Hey, whose beer do you think your drinking, Little Miss?" Gippal smiled and raised his eyebrows. Rikku grinned and sculled the rest of her beer.

"I'm not drinking beer!" She smirked and crossed her arms. "I'm not drinking anything at the moment."

"That's it. It's on!" Gippal put his beer down on the table.

"Oh it is, is it?"

"Yes"

"Pfft, you don't scare me, Gippal"

"No?"

"No!"

"I'm sorry what did you say?"

"I said, you don't scare me."

"No, before that?"

"I dunno."

"I'm sure you said something about going for a swim…"

"What? Swim? No I didn't say…Shit…"

Rikku jumped up and bolted for the house, but it was too late, Gippal was already standing and catching her arm. Rikku was clearly more affected by the beer than Gippal was and her movements were slower than usual.

"Gippal, no, please don't! Please! I'm sorry! I was drinking your beer! You're so wonderful, I love you, please don't!" Rikku tried to convince Gippal not to throw her in the pool. But it wasn't working. Gippal, grabbed her around the waste and made his way over to the pool gate. Rikku saw this and changed tactics.

"Ahhh, Gippal I hate you! If you so much as touch that gate I will not have sex with you for a week." Gippal halted for a second to consider.

"This will be better." Gippal added and continued to the pool.

"A MONTH! A WHOLE FUCKIGN YEAR! I swear on you sex life you will regret it if I get even a drop of water on me!" Rikku was shrieking, but it was had to hear what she was saying because everyone else was laughing so much. "Yunie, help me!" Rikku changed tactics again. Yuna held her hands up.

"Hey you got yourself into this mess. I'm not going near it." She laughed.

"Paine? Baralai?" Rikku begged. But they both just shook their heads and smirked. "Tidus? Oh my god, Tidus help me!" Rikku was desperate and Gippal was having trouble with the gate. Tidus smirked and stood up. "Oh thank god!" Rikku smiled. "Tidus is gonna kung-fu your arse, Gippal!"

Gippal turned around to face him. Rikku's head was now facing away from Tidus. Tidus walked up to the struggling couple and winked at Gippal as he reached for the gate that Gippal had been trying to open whilst controlling Rikku.

"There ya go, mate." Tidus opened the gate and Rikku gave a squeal. Everyone else just laughed.

"You goddamn, stupid, fucking, arsehole, shithead, cock-munching, pig faced, fucking fucked up cun…." Rikku's completely out of character cussing was silenced abruptly as she was thrown from Gippal's shoulder and her head went under the water.

Everyone was in tears with laughter when Rikku's head immerged from the water. She really did look like a drowned cat. Her soggy bangs stuck to her face and water was dripping from her nose and chin. Her eyes had become tiny, tiny slits. She stalked over to the stairs and slowly climbed them out of the pool. He clothes were soggy and stuck to her, making it uncomfortable to move. She glared at Gippal and Tidus who were still standing inside the pool fence laughing. She walked over to them and glared.

"I'm sorry Rikku, it was just too funny." Tidus put in sheepishly.

"Yeah babe, too… funny…" Gippal added in between laughs.

From their spot at the table, Yuna, Paine and Baralai could see what was about to happen.

"Funny! FUNNY! I'll give you god-damned funny!" She said icily. And with that she shoved Gippal hard in the chest, unbalancing him and sending him tripping towards the pool. Tidus went to grab Gippal to steady him. They were now standing side by side and Gippal could see now that Rikku was really angry and desperately tried to apologize.

"Rikku I really am sorry, I didn't realize you'd get so angry…"

"Didn't realize! Didn't release?" She asked walking menacingly towards the pair. They both took a few steps backwards. "Well," Rikku took another step forwards, and the two men a step back away from her, 'Realize THIS!"

Rikku had slowly advanced them to within about a foot of the pools edge. She smiled to herself.

_Gippal was so easy to get back._ She thought,_ Just feign anger and he's all sorry and shit. Heh…_ She laughed to herself and then out loud as she reached out and gave Gippal one last shove. At the last minute, Gippal release what Rikku had done.

"Fuck!" He yelped as he became to fall backwards into the pool. Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed hold of Tidus' shirt. Tidus, who had been looking at Yuna trying to figure out why she was furiously waving her arms at him behind Rikku's back trying to get him to move away from the pool, was caught off guard and went falling with him into the cold water.

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_A/N: Ok I know this took ages, and nothing really happened in this chapter. I'm really sorry. Next Chapter will contain fluff and is a bit limey. Huray! HEH. Anyway. I Hope my A/N at the top explained why this took so long. I will try to finish it before I go! Please Review otherwise Ill think no one is reading it and not bother finishing it! (well I might, just so I know what happens at the end, but I wont post it… Just to be nasty… JOKES! See you all soon!_

_Ja ne!_


	13. Betty and Al

_A/N: OMG what a HUGE chapter! I hope you guys like. Thanks for all the encouraging words about Japan. I'm sorry your all jealous… You should all come and visit me there coz I will be in serious need for some non-japanese company at some point :) Anyway, I got this out as soon as I could. READ and ENJOY! (R&E) Oh and the 1 is a chapter note, see the bottom of the chapter for an explanation!_

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**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

Yuna was in hysterics. She couldn't stop laughing. Both Tidus and Gippal looked so cute when they were angry… and wet. She laughed again when she saw Paine laughing. It was a rare and beautiful sight to see both Paine and Baralai laughing together. She drew her laughing down to a giggle and looked at them, and realized that she was kind of envious of them, of what they had.

_Why is it so damn hard for me? Everyone else seems to have someone. I know Tidus is here now, but how do I know that he won't just…_ Yuna's thoughts were interrupted when she felt dripping on her arm. She stopped giggling when she looked up to see Tidus standing above her, soaking wet, with one brow cocked in a challenging glare.

"Find something funny?" He asked, trying to keep a straight face as Yuna tried to stop laughing, a look or horror on her face.

"No, I was just… Um… I wasn't laughing at you… I.. Uh…" Yuna didn't really have an excuse. She knew what was coming, and she wouldn't give Tidus the satisfaction of throwing her in the pool. Not like Rikku.

Yuna looked towards the house and went to move. Tidus, thinking she was going to try to run into the house, moved to stop her. But instead she ran towards the pool. This confused Tidus. He started after her, and when he realized that he wasn't going to get to throw her in, that she was going to jump in on her own, he simply stopped and smiled.

Yuna dived fully clothed (although she was in her board shorts) into the pool. Just before she jumped, she saw Paine look at her watch out of the corner of her eye. She sank herself to the deepest part and sat there in the silence that being underwater offered. She loved being underwater. She used to image she was in space, floating among the stars. Ever since she was a child, she used to try and stay under as long as she could. She would stay under until she was blue in the face. It wasn't until recently however, that she actually started to time it.

She remembered once that she had stayed under too long and Paine had to pull her out and do mouth to mouth because she had taken a huge lung full of water. That was scary. She never wanted that to happen again. Paine had thought she was trying to kill herself.

No, she wouldn't be killing herself any time soon. Not if it felt anything like drowning. She had never been so scared in her life.

She slowly opened her eyes and realized she was still under the water. She didn't even feel out of air. She can't have been under for so long.

_2 minutes is my best. I wonder how long it's been now…?_ Yuna heard her name being called. Tidus must have been calling pretty loud for her to have heard it, even under the water. She looked up to the surface though water-blurred vision and saw a figure on the edge of the pool.

She didn't move because she knew the best way for her to be able to hold her breath was to keep still. Suddenly a there was a crash and the silence of the water was shattered as someone jumped in. Yuna started as they began to swim towards her.

Tidus grabbed her arms and dragged her to the surface. Yuna spluttered.

"You scared the wee out of me, Tidus! What's the matter?" She asked as Tidus pushed his wet hair out of his eyes.

"_I_ scared _you_? Jesus girl, I thought you were drowning or something!" They both looked at each other seriously but their gaze was broken by a soft snort/laugh from Paine, who was now leaning on the pool fence looking at them.

"She wouldn't drown herself. At least not a second time…" Paine smiled at Yuna and Yuna gave a small laugh back. "By the way, Yuna. That was a new record. Two minutes and forty-one seconds by my watch!"

"Oo! My longest yet!" Yuna laughed again when she saw the look of utter confusion on Tidus' face. "I've been practicing holding my breath. I used to always go under and stay as long as I could. Until one day Paine had to drag me from the pool and do mouth-to-mouth. From then on, I timed myself and tried a little harder every time. I beat my old record by 41 seconds!"

Tidus blinked a few times and looked from Paine to Yuna. "Paine gave you mouth to mouth? Like as in, girl on girl?" Tidus grinned and Paine just rolled her eyes.

'She was saving my life, you dolt!" Yuna started.

'That doesn't matter, it's still hot! Wait a minute… Did you say I scared the _wee_ out of you? You weren't being serious… Were you?" Tidus looked at Yuna now, a questioning look on his face.

Yuna simply smirked and her eyes darted to the right, and her gaze fell on the water.

"Ewww, Yuna that gross!" Tidus yelped as he made his way hastily to the stairs and out of the pool.

Now it was Yuna's turn to roll her eyes. "Oh my lord, Tidus. You don't honestly believe I'd pee in the pool, do you?" She looked at Tidus who was half-way through taking his shirt off.

"No…" He took his shirt fully off anyway and flung it over the fence to dry. "No I 'spose not… Hey…" He looked around. "Where's Gippal and Rikku?" It was at that exact moment that Rikku poped her head out from the back door.

"Hey guys, Gippal and I are going back to his place. He has to work tomorrow morning so he needs his beauty sleep." Rikku had a towel around her Gippal was now standing behind her.

"But it's only," Yuna looked at her watch, "quarter to 6."

"Like I said. Gippal needs his beauty sleep. A LOT of beauty sleep." She smirked at him and he glared back.

"Don't forget you have Uni tomorrow morning Rikku. " Paine added motherly.

"I know, I know. I'll see you in the lecture." She added as they both waved goodbye and Yuna, Tidus, Baralai and Paine all waved and said their goodbyes.

"Wait, Who's driving?" Tidus asked concerned.

"They walked." Baralai answered.

"Walked?"

"Gippal only lives a 20 minute walk away. He gets Rikku to walk home to his place all the time. Take a bit of… bounce… out of her." Baralai smiled.

"Oh."

"Speaking of home… I think it's about time I went back too." Baralai frowned.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Paine asked, concerned. Yuna remembered what Baralai had said at the club about his father being an arsehole.

"Would you?" He asked, almost ashamed. Paine gave him an I-can't-believe-you-think-I-wouldn't look. And she turned to Yuna, who was still in the pool.

"Is that ok with you, Yuna. I might not be home tonight." Paine asked seriously.

"That's cool with me. Don't forget you have Uni tomorrow morning…" She copied Paine's voice so well it made Baralai and Tidus smile. Paine rolled her eyes.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." Paine pointed now at Tidus. "And you. No funny business." Tidus saluted her and she waved to them both as her and Baralai made their way into the house and left.

"Who was driving those two?" Tidus asked Yuna who was now leaning her chin on the pool side.

"Baralai wasn't drinking."

"Oh."

"You say 'Oh' a lot" Yuna smiled.

"I'm sorry I just lose track of things. I'm so happy at the moment I just find it hard to pay attention. And you…" Tidus slipped into the cool water and came up behind Yuna. "Are making it even more difficult." His bare chest pressed against Yuna's back and she leaned into the warmth. He brought his hands up and placed them on her shoulders. Slowly, he worked his fingers into her muscles and she brought her arms up and folded them on the edge of the pool and then rested her head on them.

Tidus continued to massage Yuna's shoulders, back and neck for about 20 minutes. They would normally have been cold my now, but their body warmth was keeping the cold away.

Finally Yuna stirred and turned around so she was facing Tidus. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and looked sleepily at him.

"Anymore of that and I would have fallen asleep." She smiled contently.

"Nice to know my company is so enthralling…" Tidus pretended to be hurt.

Yuna gave him a look that told him she didn't mean it that way.

"I know, I know." Tidus smiled. "Well, to prove that you don't think I'm boring, you'll just have to come out on a date with me. To the movies or dinner or something else just as original…"

"Sounds wonderful." Yuna looked at him happily. Then something came into her eyes and she looked away. 'What about Seymour? What if he sees us?"

Tidus thought for a moment. "Well. If it's anything like last time…" He thought back to Yuna practically holding him off Seymour. Although Tidus would have surely won the fight, he would have definitely copped more that just a punch to the eye. "Ok" He said. "We can go, if you'll be my bodyguard." He smiled. Yuna smiled broadly back at him.

"And you can call me 'Betty'" She laughed slightly.

"And, Betty, when you call me, you can caaallll meeee Al…" Tidus sang and grinned back at her. 1 They both laughed as they sat in comfortable silence in the cool water together.

Slowly Tidus leaned in and placed a long kiss on Yuna's damp forehead.

"Don't worry about Seymour. He's just a jerk." Tidus ran a hand gently over Yuna's wet hair and let it rest on her neck. "Forget him. We'll go out, just the two of us. We can, Yuna. We can both go!"

Yuna was silent for a bit then, beneath his hand, Tidus felt her breathing get uneven and she started trembling. He took his hand away and looked at her. The afternoon had grown dark and in the diminished light of early evening, just a few stars in the sky, Tidus looked down at Yuna.

She was crying! A droplet trickled down her face and fell sparking into the water.

"I can't! I just can't" She said, her voice full of sadness with a hint of bitterness. "I can't go." Yuna started sobbing. She brought her hand up to cover her mouth, ashamed to be crying (again!) in front of Tidus.

Tidus didn't know what to do. He looked at her and blinked. His blue eyes reflecting the sparkle of the stars from the water. Behind him, if Yuna had wanted to look, she would have seen more stars appearing to spend their night shining in the sky. A dim blueish glow lit up the side of his face from the full moon that had risen.

_I have to do something._ He thought. _God damn it!_ He finally reacted. Tidus placed a firm hand on Yuna's left shoulder. Followed by one on her right. He looked down at her. She still wouldn't look at him as gasps of air were brought in and out as she tried to stop herself from crying. _Look at me, Yuna!_

"Yuna." He said simply, quietly. Slowly her gasping slowed and she looked up to meet his intent gaze.

Tidus' arm snaked slowly and gently round Yuna's shoulders and she looked at him though tear filled eyes. He slowly shut his eyes and leaned in and kissed her lips.

Shocked out of her crying, Yuna slowly closed her eyes and began to kiss him back. Under the water she drew her arms around him in a warm embrace. The water was silent but for a few small splashes the couple made as they moved slightly, trying to get as close to one another as they could.

Yuna had spent a lot of time with Tidus over the past few days. She had laughed with him, cried with him, slept with him, kissed him, been angry at him, been happy with him. But what she was feeling now was something that she hadn't felt for a long time.

As they continued to kiss; Tidus' tongue exploring her mouth, tasting her gently; Yuna tried to grasp the emotion she was feeling. It was almost like some one had opened a box of butterflies in her belly and they were fluttering all over the place, trying to get out.

She was worried. She was beginning to really like Tidus. Maybe even love him.

_That's ridiculous, Yuna_ She thought to herself. _You don't even know him. How could you possible love him so soon? You don't want to fall in love… Not again…_ Her negative thoughts were interrupted when she felt Tidus begin to fall sideways.

As the two slipped beneath the waters surface, Yuna forgot everything she was thinking.

Tidus could tell she wasn't fully into the kiss when he first did it. She was confused inside. He tried his best to attract her mind's attention by intensifying the kiss, but that didn't seem to work. Thinking quickly he began to lean to the side.

_She will have to concentrate if we are under water. She can hold her breath, I know that for sure. _Tidus thought to himself.

The pair continued kissing under the water breaking apart once to look at each other. Tidus reached up, and though his clouded vision, brushed away a few stray hairs that were flowing into Yuna's face. Although he didn't have enough hair to get in the way, Yuna reached up and brushed his warm cheek with her fingers. They both smiled at each other.

Yuna's thoughts were on nothing but Tidus and his were on nothing but her. For all they cared, they were the only two in the world. It was then that Yuna made one of the most life-changing decisions she had ever made.

_Yes,_ she thought as she looked into Tidus' blurry smiling face. _Yes, I will love again. I won't be afraid._

Yuna placed her arms over Tidus' shoulders and leant in to kiss him again. He wrapped his arms warmly around her and they slowly floated up to the surface.

Yuna drew in a deep breath as she pulled reluctantly away from Tidus. He looked at her and she shivered.

"Cold…" She whispered as she smiled.

"Let's get out, then." Tidus smiled back and took hold of Yuna's hand. He led her out of the pool and over to the table. Tidus sat down and Yuna spoke.

"I'll just grab us some towels." Tidus watched as she did a little shake at the door, trying to get as much water off as possible before she went into the house.

_Yuna… _Was all Tidus could think.

Yuna emerged from the house wrapped in a big beach towel and carrying another. She threw it at Tidus who began drying himself. Yuna stood and watched him with her head tilted slightly in thought.

"Hey… Quit staring… It's creepy…" Tidus joked as he stood up and walked over to Yuna.

"Sorry." Yuna laughed.

Tidus looked at Yuna in the moonlight. Her pale face was illuminated with a light blue hue, almost ghostly. He reached up and placed a hand on her cheek. Yuna leaned into the hand, closed her eyes, and sighed softly. Tidus took a small step forward and guided Yuna's mouth to his. He kissed her softly, still gently caressing her cheek.

Yuna let go of the towel that was wrapped around her and her wet clothes and drew her arms up, pressing her palms onto Tidus' bare chest. Curling her fingers slightly, she softly ran her nails down over his chest, abs and stomach until they reached the top of his damp jeans. Looping her fingers into the belt loops, Yuna pulled Tidus' hips towards her. Tidus made a noise of anticipation and pulled his lips away from Yuna's. He kissed the tip of her nose softly; bending down, he began kissing her neck and cheek. His hands were now on Yuna's hips pulling her towards him, mimicking her.

"Don't move." Tidus stated as he pulled away. He bent down and picked up the discarded towel and flicked it out so it was spread out on the grass.

"What're you…" Yuna started but was interrupted when Tidus scooped her up into his arms. Yuna startled and grabbed onto Tidus' shoulders for dear life.

"I won't drop you." Tidus looked down at Yuna's surprised face and grinned.

"I should hope not!" Yuna laughed.

Tidus loved the sound of Yuna's laugh. He wished he could hear it more often. People had always told him that you can't know happiness unless you have experienced sadness, but Yuna had been sad. She didn't have to still feel that way, right?

_She should be allowed to laugh forever and never have to feel sad ever again._ Tidus thought as he leaned in slowly to cover Yuna's mouth with his own in a futile attempt to keep Yuna's laugh safe from escaping.

Yuna closed her eyes and lost all her thoughts in that kiss. She didn't notice Tidus kneel down with her still I his arms and it wasn't until she was fully laying on the towel with Tidus on all fours above her still kissing her, that she opened her eyes and broke the kiss.

She looked up at Tidus' face. His tanned skin and Yellow blonde hair cast a shadow on her own face as the moon was behind his head. A blue glow surrounded him and the stars glimmered brightly in the blackness of the night sky.

_Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place._ Yuna thought blissfully to herself.

Tidus sat back on his heels and admired Yuna's content expression. He brought his hands to the base of Yuna's shirt.

"You'll catch a cold wearing wet clothes like this." He said matter-of-factly, tugging gently on the material.

"Is that so?" Yuna smiled. "Well I guess you had better take it off…" She leaned up and lifted her arms over hear head. Tidus slipped the shirt up and off and put it beside them.

Yuna look a slow look down from Tidus face. Tidus watched as she looked him over. He was getting more and more turned on just from the look of embarrassed lust in her eyes. Her eyes trying to take in every part of his body. She saw his neck, saw the skin just under his chin move with his pulse, saw his chest rising in and out with every breath he took, saw his nipples, frigid from the cool air and heated situation, saw his well defined and tanned stomach, she saw the top of his jeans, and the prominence growing beneath the denim. She frowned.

"You know…" she said as she looked back at Tidus' face, "That not only will you get a cold from your wet jeans, but you'll probably get stuck in them. Denim shrinks in the wash. And at the rate you're going…" she eyed his crotch, "You'll never get them off…" She grinned. Tidus smirked, then stood to take off his pants. Yuna felt suddenly cold without Tidus' body heat near her. "Now get back down here…" She smiled and held her arms up to him.

Before he complied, Tidus eyed Yuna's board shorts and raised his eyebrows. Yuna sighed and rolled her eyes playfully, completely understanding the 'I took my pants off its only fare you do too' look from Tidus. She lifted her bum off the ground and pulled her shorts off, placing them in the steadily growing pile of clothes next to her.

"That's better." Tidus said as he knelt back down over Yuna.

"Close your eyes." He told her and she complied. Tidus sat on his heals, one leg on either side of Yuna's hips. He rubbed his hands together to warm them up a bit then placed them on her shoulders. Ever so slowly, he moved them up her neck. His skin only just touching hers. From her neck, he moved them slowly down to just above her bra. He lingered here, feeling her heart beat quicken and her breathing become faster.

Gently moving his hands down, he rested them on her breasts and Yuna sighed. Yuna took in a big breath, trying to raise her chest into his teasing hands but Tidus moved with her, never touching her harder than a butterfly kiss.

Moving his hands down her soft skin to her belly, he felt himself getting more and more excited.

_I don't know if I'll be able to hold back if this continues… _Tidus thought guiltily to himself. Not knowing that at that moment, Yuna's thought mirrored his exactly.

He drew his hands down to the top or her undies and stopped. Staying like that for about a minute, Yuna finally got frustrated. She opened her eyes and sat up. Wrapping her arms around Tidus' shoulders to keep her up, she kissed him passionately. Tidus could take a hint.

Reaching around behind her, he unclipped her bra and slid the straps off her shoulders. She let go of him for a moment so he could pull it fully off. Another addition to the clothes pile.

Pulling her to him, Tidus felt their bare chests heat up at the skin on skin touch. Kissing her again, Tidus pushed her backwards until she was lying down on her back, and using his knees, he moved her legs apart and lay in between them, boxers and undies the only thing keeping them apart. Tidus kissed Yuna harder, his need to finish what had been started pressing hard onto Yuna's hips. Tidus ran his hand down Yuna's side and back up, stopping to gently flick her nipple with his forefinger.

Yuna moaned then and when Tidus broke away from her mouth to nip and kiss her neck, she began doubting herself.

_He's not Seymour, he's not Seymour, he's not Seymour…_ She repeated in her mind. But she wasn't convincing herself. Although it had been a while since what had happened, she hadn't been intimate with another guy since. And now, with Tidus on top of her, kissing her, toughing her, grinding himself into her crotch, Yuna knew why. It still scared her shitless. Putting her hands onto Tidus chest, she gently pushed him up and turned her head to the side, trying to avoid his eyes.

"Yuna," Tidus stopped everything he was doing and looked down at her, concerned.

"I'm sorry , it's just…"

"Seymour?"

"Mmm. The whole situation with him. It scares me."

"Look, Yuna, I'm not trying to pressure you. If you want to stop, I won't touch you again. But seriously," He climbed off her and sat beside her. Reaching down, he turned her face to his, "You need to enjoy this. I'm not Seymour. I can help you forget about him. It will take time, but by the end of it, you won't even remember his name. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm touching you because I think you're beautiful; because I think you're smart and funny and gorgeous; because I can't stop thinking about you; because when I'm with you, my mind can't even form words. I'm touching you because when you're sad, it makes me sad; because I wish I could make things better; because I wish I could change the past. Because I _need_ you. Yuna, I'm touching you because, as crazy as it sounds, I think…"

Yuna lay still, mesmerized by Tidus words. "You think what?" She asked, scared of his answer. Tidus blinked and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Because I think I'm falling in love with you."

The tears that Yuna had been fighting back now trickled from her eyes. An infinite silence passed between then and when Yuna said nothing after a while, Tidus sighed sadly and went to get up to leave.

"Wait." Yuna said quietly, reaching out and grabbing his hand. Tidus looked at her and she smiled beautifully. Letting go, she reached down and slowly took her undies off and placed them in the pile. She looked back at Tidus who was smiling back at her peacefully. She took hold of his arms and gently pulled them so he would move on top of her. Tidus looked down at her, she was still smiling, if somewhat nervously.

"Yuna… Are you sure?" She nodded. "No. Say the words. Tell me it's ok."

"Tidus, I want you to _sleep_ with me. But, there's one condition."

"Anything." Tidus said simply.

"Stay with me until the end. Please?"

"Not until the end." Tidus whispered; Yuna frowned slightly. He bent down and kissed her forehead. "Not until the end…Always."

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_A;N Ok next chapter will be total lemon. Just a warning. I hope you all liked it._

_1 It's a line from a Paul Simon song. If you don't know it, you should. Songs called "Call me Al", the line goes: "If you'll be my body guard, I can be your long lost pal, I can call you Betty. And Betty when you call me, you can call me Al"_


	14. More Promises

_A/N : Oh my god! An update finally! I am soooooo sorry to everyone reading this and who have waited, like, 4 months for this. I have been so busy here in Japan! An truth be told, I have only just got a computer that's worthy of using (boy, my last one was a hunk of junk…) Im getting settled in a bit more now, So I have a bit more time on my hands. Hopefully updates will come a lot quicker now!_

_To all my reviewers, THANKS SO MUCH! I don't think I woulda continued with this story if it wasn't for you guys! I love it so mush when I get reviews… Makes it all worth it! And I have so many now! Over 60! W00t! neways on with the show, ne?_

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_**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**_

Leaning back from the kiss, Tidus looked down at Yuna's pale skin in the moonlight. It had been such a crazy week. If someone had told him all this was going to happen he would never have believed them.

He leaned forwards again and pressed his chest against Yuna's, kissing her neck and eliciting small moans of please from her. He nibbled of her ear and in a whisper turned husky from the need catching in his throat he spoke to her.

"You look adorable in the moonlight…" He couldn't keeps still as she let out a breath of air in an amused sigh. She knew he was trying to keep her happy, keep her thoughts away from Seymour. The thing she both feared and loved was the fact that it was working. The more heated the situation got now, the more al she could think about was being as close to Tidus as possible; for him to be inside her.

She ran her nails gently down the cool skin of his back and reached his boxers. She snapped the elastic and Tidus breathed the same amused sigh as she had early, only he blew his air into her ear, giving her goosebumps. She slid her hands under the material and grabbed his arse, pulling him towards her, causing his erection to grind against her. Now he groaned into her ear and she smiled at the way she was making him feel.

With a determination that both startled her, amused her and fascinated her at the same time Tidus sat up and studiously removed his boxes. She smiled at his boyish enthusiasm and it struck her that she could be comfortable with this man. He was nothing like Seymour. He possessed none of the malice that Seymour did, none of the violence. His eyes were crystal clear blue and in the light from the moon it was almost as if she could see through them into his thoughts. What she saw was pure goodness.

Through all her thinking, Tidus had taken off his last item of clothing and laid it on the pile. He gently let himself down on Yuna and looked at her. She was staring into his eyes with a strange look on her face.

"Are you ok?" he asked, felling a nervous knot forming in his belly.

Yuna nodded and then added "Why?"

"You were looking at me funny, s'all…" Tidus kissed her and she passionately returned the kiss to show him she really was ok. It was almost as if he tongue had gone all the way down into his belly and untied the knot itself. As they kissed, Tidus trailed a hand down her side, giving her goosebumps again. He reached her hip and slowly brought his hand to the front.

He continued to kiss her and lick her neck and ears as he gently ran his fingers over her warm opening. He tenderly used his fingers to part her and slipped one inside her ever so slowly.

She groaned at this and arched her hips, pushing him further inside her. He smiled, enjoying the fact that Yuna was enjoying herself. Tidus knew that she wasn't going to be thinking about Seymour for a while.

He could tell from her tightness that she hadn't been with another guy for a while. He gently pushed another finger inside her, kissing her when she winced slightly. He gently moved them in and out of her as he used his thumb to massage her clit.

Tidus was right. All thoughts had left Yuna's mind. She couldn't seem to concentrate on anything except the unbelievable pleasure she was feeling. She couldn't remember ever feeling like this. Ever. How was it that Tidus could make her feel so… awesome? Her breathing quickened and she once again began rocking in the same motion Tidus' fingers were using. She opened her eyes and small white dots danced across her vision. She squeezed her muscles around Tidus fingers, making it tighter.

She reached down and placed her hand around Tidus' warm erections. He momentarily stopped moving his fingers and rested his forhead on Yuna's shoulder and she began to move her hand up and down at an excruciatingly slow pace. Yuna could feel smll shivers run though him as she moved. She felt elated that she could make him feel like this. She wanted to know just how much he could take. Where was his limit?

"Tidus…" She whispered.

"Mmm…" was the only reply as she kept moving her hand ever so slowly.

"On your back." He brought his head back so he could look at her questioningly.

"Now." Yuna said with a little grin.

Reluctantly he withdrew his fingers and moved so he was on his back on the towel, the whole time, Yuna never stopped moving her hand. Tidus lay there and looked up at the stars as Yuna straddled him.

Yuna kissed him on the forehead, then the nose, then the lips. Tidus tried to make the kis last longer but Yuna had other things planned.

She kissed his chest, then his stomach, smiling as his abs tesnsed as if it tickled… She would have to remember that…

She kissed his hips and finally, after licking her lips to moisten them, kissed the tip of his erection. Tidus' breathing quickened as he realised what she was going to do. His heart felt like it was going to beat its way out of his chest. His erection hardened een more in anticipation.

But Yuna wasn't going to just dive right in. She grabbed his hips and held them down as much as she could to stop Tidus from pushing into her mouth. She put out her tongue and licked him from the bottom to the top of his hardness, giving a little flick with the tip of her tongue to the spot where the head met the shaft.

After reaching the top, she traced her wet tongue around it, tasting the slaty precum and dampening her lips at the same time.

With a slowness that almost caused Tidus to cry out in frustration, she pushed her mouth over his cock and brought it down almost all the way.

Through sparks of pleasure Tidus mentally complimented Yuna. He wasn't huge when it came to where size did count, but he was nowhere new small either. Most other girls he had been with had never been able to get so much in… His thoughts were interrupted and Yuna's hands left his hips. One hand went to his shaft, and moved up and down in time with her mouth, the other went down and gentle fingers and a warm palm cupped his balls.

Nothing else mattered at this moment. The pleasure Yuna was causing him was beyond anything he had ever felt.

_How can she be so good at this?_ He wondered. Then he realised that not only was it because she was good, it was because of the way he felt about her. Because his feelings were so much deeper than any he had ever had before. _How could have all happened in just a few days?_ He decided to think about that later. He could feel himself close to release. He had to stop Yuna before he blew his load into her mouth!

"Yuna…Stop…" He could hardly for words. She stoped moving but didn't take her mouth off him. She peered up at him from where she was, her hair falling over her face. _Fuck she looks sexy like that_ Tidus thought as he struggled to keep his composure and not just let her continue until he came.

"I'm gonna cum if you keep going…." He admitted.

Yuna slowly drew her lips of him and he closed his eyes until she was fully off his erection.

"Well," She said licking her lips. "We wouldn't want that now, would we?" She returned her hand to his erection and moved it slowing up and down. "I'll be RIGHT back. Do NOT move." She said as she stood up and grabbed the spare towel, wrapping it around herself. Before Tidus could ask where she was going, she ran inside.

He lay there for a moment feeling cold where Yuna's warm body, wondering if maybe Yuna had changed her mind. He saw her come back out, throw the town to the ground and straddle him again. He was about to ask her if she was ok and if she still wanted to do this when he saw what she was holding in her hand, srugling to open…

"Here." He said with a small smile and he reached up and too the condom packet from her frustrated fingers. "Let me."

"Thanks…" She said sheepishly. He opened it and tossed the packet too the side. Yuna reached and took it out of his hands. While she had been gone, his erection had softened a little, she she gently placed the condom on the tip of his penis and bent down, using her mouth to slip it onto him, his shaft hardening instantly at the warmth of her lips around it and the tickle of her tongue as she moved it against him.

Once it was on, she sat up took his member in her hand. She learned up on her knees and placed the tip at her warm, damp opening. She smiled at the look of innocent anticiption on his face as she moved so only about an inch was inside her. Tidus closed his eyes, expecting her to slid all the way own. Instead she pulled up again.

He looked up at her, wondering again if she had changed her mind, but instead of doubt, all he saw was a sly grin. He gave her a puzzled look but closed his eyes and dropped his head back when she pushed down on him again, still slowly, this time going a little it further but pulling up again before going all the way down. He tried to push upwards but she moved with him, never letting him penetrate her more than a couple of inches.

She pulled away again, and held herself at the very tip of his now throbbing erection. She looked down at Tidus' hands, only to see them griping the towel so fiercly she thought he might tear a hole in it.

_He wants this so badly…_ She thought. _So do I…_ She told herself again, but she didn't need to. She knew she wanted this, wanted this more than anything in the world. Deciding to stop being cruel, she suddenly dropped herself onto him all the way.

A burst of pleasure shot though Tidus, and it took all his will power not to cry out when Yuna continued to drop herself onto him. He let go of the towel and reached his hands around to grip her arse.

He wasn't used to having the woman on top, but he liked it. He like that Yuna was in control. He hadn't thought she would be the kind of girl to go on top but if it made her feel more comfortable, if it gave her control of the situation that had made her so uncomfortable. Plus she was damn good at this!

He opened his eyes and though a have caused by pleasure, he watched her. Her eyes were closed, her head slightly tilted upwards, her hands were on his stomach, he breasts bounced as she did, her mouth slightly open with the slightest hint of a smile.

As if feeling his gaze on her, Yuna looked down at Tidus, but didn't slow her rhythm. He expected her to blush or grin, embarrassed. Instead she simply smiled at him and this turned him on to the point of no return. But he didn't want Yuna doing all the work. He grabbed her hips, stopping the movement.

"My turn." He said as he lifted her off and moved so that he was lying on top of her his hips between her thighs. She moved her her hips upwards, missing the feeling of him being inside her. He smiled, knowing she was ok with the switch of control.

He slowly pushed into her and she moaned in response. It took all the will power he had for Tidus not to just fuck her hard right there and then. He had to make this last. He had to make her cum. He had to give her the pleasure she so desperately wanted and deserved.

Yuna reached up and slid her fingers through Tidus damp, blonde hair, gripping it tightly as he moved slowing in and out of her. Ever so slowly, he increase the pace and with each thrust into her, Yuna could feel herself coming closer to realease.

Tidus looked down at Yun again. Her eyes were closed and with each thrust he made, a small sound of desire escaped her mouth. She was moving with him now, pushing upwards as he pushed down. Tidus couldn't hold it in any longer. Yuna felt him shudder against her and as he rammed hard into her. At the moment of release she tightened her muscles around his thobbing erection, causing Tidus to grunt with pleasure. His thrusting stopped momentarily, but then continued, wanting Yuna to cum as well.

He was rewarded a minute later as he felt her nails dig into his back, her hips arching upwards. He watched her face intently as she closed her eyes. He felt her muscles tighten around him, this time it wasn't controlled however, and they spasmed as a wave of explicit pleasure racked her body. She moaned loudly as Tidus continued to thrust into her until her orgasm had finished.

Finally Tidus felt her body stop shuddering and relax under him. She opened her eyes and smiled up at him. He moved off her and lay beside her.

A comfortable silence passed between them and it was Yuna who spoke first.

"Does this mean we are a couple?"

"Yeah I spose it does. Well I'd like it to mean that, if that's what you want as well…" He looked over at her. She nodded enthusiastically.

"Thanks." She said with a smile.

"Anytime." He replied, returning the smile.

"Is that a promise?" She laughed as his smile turned to a sly grin.

"Damn straight it is!"

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_A/N: please review! Onegai? It will make me update sooner!_


	15. Coral Cay Eyes

A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Im sorry for the late update. Im just so busy these days! No, truth be told, Im just lazy. But reviews do help me update sooner, otherwise Id NEVER update! SHOCKHORROR! Anyways read and enjoy, that's what its here for!

**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

Yuna and Tidus sat alone in the quite house. They had moved inside and showered (together) and were now snuggled on the couch with the TV on, but on mute. Sitting in silence for about 10 minutes, just thinking about things, finally Yuna yawned. Tidus smiled and began to stand up.

"Come on. We should go to bed." He held out his hand to Yuna and she looked at it with a grin.

"Remember what happened last time u told me I should go to bed," she giggled.

Tidus flinched involuntarily and touched his cheek without even thinking. Yuna laughed at this and took his hand, using it to pull herself up.

"But things are different now, aren't they?" She asked him as she leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. Tidus wrapped his arms around her and kissed her again.

"They sure are."

The next morning Yuna groggily opened her eyes. They felt as if they had bricks tied to them, pulling them closed and it took all her will power not to roll over and go back to sleep. She knew she had something to do today but for the life of her she couldn't remember what it was.

Sitting up, she heard herself grumble something in a throaty morning voice. _Wait a minute…since when did I sound like a guy? _She turned around and yelped when she saw a figure in her bed.

At the noise the body started and sat bolt upright.

"What? What'd I do?" Tidus blurted out, automatically thinking he'd done something wrong and still completely disorientated himself. The site of Tidus in the morning with bed hair brought Yuna back to her senses and she remembered the night before. She must have slept soundly all night. In fact she didn't really remember going to bed. It wasn't a hangover, because she hadn't drunk that much, she just wasn't used to another person, besides a drunken Rikku, sleeping in her bed.

"You're cute with bed-hair." She smiled at Tidus. All thought, both coherent and not, left her mind when he turned to her and ran his hand sheepishly though his blonde mass, trying hopelessly to neaten it up. "You're even cuter when you're embarrassed…" She laughed when he gave her an evil stare. She was about to tell him he looked cute when he tried to be evil, but his evil stared turned to a questioning look.

"What time is it?" He asked. Yuna turned around and looked at her clock.

"Almost lunchtime, why?" She turned back to face him.

"Aren't you supposed to be at Uni?" he asked as he continued to try to fix his precious hair.

Yuna's face went pale. Her eyes became the size of dinner plates and her jaw dropped.

"Oh shit…" She whispered. "Rikku is going to kill me. But its too late to go now, I've missed most of the day…" She sighed and plopped back down onto her pillow.

"Rikku? I thought it would be Paine giving you an arse whooping." Tidus leaned across and, leaning on one elbow, placed his hand on Yuna's stomach.

"Well, yes, but that's a given. Rikku will kill me because she would have gone today thinking I would kill her if she didn't… but instead it was me who didn't go… oh well… She'll be home at 6ish, so I have some time to prepare…. Or hide…" She laughed at this and closed her eyes when Tidus' lips came to hers.

"You're cute when you laugh." He said. Yuna smiled at this and reached up to ruffle his hair back to the way it was when he had just woken up.

"And you're lame when you steal other peoples complements…" She laughed again at the look he gave her. And then continued. "What about you. Do you have anything to do today?"

"Hrmmm" Tidus thought for a moment. "Well first…" he kissed her again, "I'm going to spend some 'quality time' with you…" Kissing her again, but with more passion to emphasise his intentions. "Then I have to meet someone." He stopped and a worried look slipped over his face. When he realised Yuna had seen it, he quickly masked it with an unrecognisable look.

"Someone? Should I be worried?" Yuna pushed her head back into the pillow to try to get a better view of Tidus face.

"Oh no. Its nothing like that…" he trailed off and Yuna looked at him expectantly. He really hadn't wanted to tell her about this part of his past and he wasn't ready for it. Not yet. He would have to give her something, though. Something so she wouldn't worry. And she really didn't need to worry. At least not about his fidelity…

"Its just something I have to do. I'd really rather not talk about it right now. I mean, it would spoil the moment. But I promise you the person I'm meeting with is of the male persuasion so you really don't need to worry." He leaned down and kissed Yuna's brow, which was creased with worry.

He looked down at her until her eyes softened and the worry all but left her face.

"Ok, Tidus. If you promise me. I trust you." She put her hand up against his cheek. _Please don't let me down…_ She asked him silently. She knew he had had a strange past. She had seen hints of it ever since she had met him. But he would tell her when he was ready. She just had to wait. And wait she would. She was beginning to think that she would wait forever for this man. He just seemed so… perfect. It was almost like he had walked out from one of her dreams and introduced himself. The next think she knew, he'd be saving the world…

"So when do you have to meet this… male…." She asked sweetly, as she ran her nails gently down his back. Tidus shivered as Yuna continued to stroke his back. He moaned softly.

"Not for at least…" he looked over to the clock " 3 hours…" he smiled down at her and she smiled back. He leaned down and pressed his lips against Yuna's. She kissed him back and ran her nails though his hair. He gently ran his hand down her side, annoyed at the thin fabric of the nightgown she had insisted on putting on the night before. _It just seems wrong to sleep naked. _She had said. _What if there's a fire and I have to run out into the street and I'm not wearing any clothes?_ Tidus had no argument to this so he had acquiesced.

Gathering up the fabric in his hand, he brought the hem up and ran his hand up the inside, skin touching skin, never once breaking the kiss and not once opening his eyes, again afraid that this might have still been a really wet dream…

Yuna ran her hands down the smooth skin of Tidus' back. She kept moving them all the way down until she reached his bum. She noticed that he had opted to sleep naked. She grinned at this and Tidus felt the grin through the kiss.

Tidus broke the kiss and made little kisses all the way to Yuna's ear.

"I'm not afraid of being naked in the street." He whispered. Yuna ran her hands down and around Tidus' legs to caress the inside of his thighs. She felt the reaction this caused as his whole body tensed then released as he moaned softly into her ear.

"Really?" She smiled mischievously, "I might just have to remember that." She leaned up and began to kiss his neck. Sucking gently on the soft skin. This seemed to push Tidus over the edge. He grabbed her hips, lifted himself up and placed himself over Yuna. He moved so that his hips we between her thighs and was looking down at her.

Yuna loved that face. The face he made that was a thousand questions in one look. She could see that he was asking if she was ok, if he had permission. She could see in that face that if she said no, he would respect that. She could see passion, desire, lust and something else. Something much deeper was hidden in those eyes. Something hidden behind a cool blue wall of ice that she could almost see but not quite make out. It was as if she was looking at something that had sunk to the bottom of crystal clear water and was hidden amongst multi coloured coral.

She was pulled from the blue coral cay water eyes by the sound of mobile phone ringing. She blinked a few times and heard Tidus curse.

"Don't answer it." Yuna said, almost pleaded.

"Yuna, I… I have to… its…" He recognised the personal ring tone, gently peeled Yuna's hands from his body and collapsed to his side of the bed. Reaching over he rummaged through his belongings and found his phone.

Looking at the name that was flashing on the screen for a few seconds, he flipped it open and answered.

"I told you I'd be there at 3:30." He said angrily into the receiver. "Yeah well I'm not going to be ready until then, so you'll just have to wait…yes I_ will _take this tone of voice with you. Your not my fucking mother!" As he said it he threw his head to the side and cursed under his breath. "Alright I know, I'm sorry. Look, if it makes you feel better I'll leave now, but I still won't be there for at least half an hour." He put his hand up to his forehead and rubbed his eyes in annoyance. "Well it can't be helped. It's a physical impossibility, OK?" He was getting angry now and Yuna was so curious as to what was being said on the other end of the line. She could make out a voice but whether it was male or female or something in between was impossible to tell.

Yuna leaned over and put a caring hand on Tidus' shoulder. At this Tidus took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He reached up and covered her hand with his, but still not turning to face her. "Ok. I'll be there as soon as I can. But I don't know why we bother doing this shit anymore. All we do is argue and end up throwing shit around………I know we promised her, you don't have to tell me that, idiot… Whatever, 30 minutes. Ill be there, make sure your waiting." And with that he hung up.

Still not turning around, he clicked the phone shut and tossed it into his pile of clothes.

"Yuna, I have to go." He said sadly, finally turning around. Yuna could have cried at the look he gave her. It was so full of hurt and pain. A look she never thought he would see on his face. Not ever. She wanted to hold him until all the pain went from those beautiful blue eyes. It was funny how quickly roles could reverse.

"I know." She said quietly as she hugged him.

"Its just that…" He started to explain but didn't know where to begin.

"It's ok. You don't have to tell me. If you want to tell me, you'll do it when you're ready. And I'll be waiting." She hugged him tighter as she felt his resolve almost crumble.

He stood and dressed silently. It was a comfortable silence but it was filled with something Yuna couldn't quite put her finger on. Was it dread? At the complete lack of any kind of enthusiasm Tidus showed while he gathered his things, one could be forgiven for thinking he was going to a funeral, perhaps even his own.

"Are you sure you're going to be ok?" Yuna asked when she saw he was finished getting ready and was walking to her bedroom door.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. How about you? You are alright here?" He asked.

"If I'm not safe in my own bed I'm not safe anywhere." Yuna smiled.

"True, but you might venture to the kitchen, be careful with the stairs, they can be tricky sometimes." Tidus said sarcastically. Yuna laughed softly and then waved goodbye.

"Call me, ok? Just so I know you're alright," She said hopefully. "I put my number in your phone yesterday."

"You did? When?" He asked, looking confused.

"Secret…" Yuna smiled back.

"Ok…. If you say so. See ya, beautiful. I'll ring you tonight." He waved back and gently shut the door. She heard him walk down the stairs, and then go out the front door, closing it softly behind him. A few minutes later she heard his bike start up. She heard him rev it way to hard and then heard him take off way to fast down the street. She listened until she couldn't hear the bike anymore.

In the silence of her room, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. She was so confused. She wasn't sure exactly how she was supposed to feel. She sat like this for almost an hour just thinking things over until she heard her stomach growl in protest.

Knowing she needed food, she climbed out of bed and made her way to the shower. Stripping off, she climbed into the hot stream of water and let it wash over her. As it pounded on her head she was still thinking. But slowly the hot water and white noise of the falling drops relaxed her mind. She stood like that for almost half an hour until the water started to go cold as the hot water ran out. She sighed, turned the taps off and climbed absentmindedly out of the shower and grabbed her towel. Dried herself and walked back to her room.

Throwing on some old jeans and a yellow baby doll t-shirt, she walked to the kitchen. She stared into the refrigerator for a good 5 minutes before she came to the conclusion that she was too lazy to cook or make anything for lunch. But he stomach was so empty it was probably eating itself. Grabbing her sunglasses and her bag, she decided to head to the fish and chip shop. Maybe Baralai was working and she could have a chat. She felt like she needed a friend right now. She felt kind of lost inside.

Making her way down to the shop, she walked though the door and pulled her sunglasses onto the top of her head. Keeping her hair, which she had hardly brushed, from looking too messy.

The shop was empty of people. As she entered, the buzzer went off to let whoever was there know that they had customers.

"I'll be right out." Baralai's sweet voice came from the back room.

"That's ok 'Lai, its just me." Yuna answered and took a seat at one of the small tables.

"Yuna?" Baralai's head popped around the corner. "Aren't you supposed to be at University?" He asked with a small smile.

"Yeah… I, uh, slept in…" She blushed and Baralai gave her a knowing look.

"Suuure you did… The girls are going to kill you." He said as he emerged from around the door.

"Yeah I know." She said as her stomach growled, interrupting the conversation.

Baralai laughed. "What would you like?" He asked.

"Surprise me." Yuna said and smiled at the look Baralai gave her.

"Woah, the new Yuna?" Baralai said as he went about making Yuna some food.

"Yeah well its not all cookies and cream." Baralai stopped what he was doing and turned around, giving Yuna a concerned look. "Oh its nothing really its just that…." Yuna proceeded to tell Baralai the story of the night and the next day and the phone call.

"Hrm. You should probably talk to Paine and Rikku about this. They are better at this sort of stuff than I am." He said, continuing with making the food.

"Is this before or after they kill me?" Yuna laughed and Baralai laughed too.

"But seriously, I have to get Paine from University when I finish, which is in," He looked at his watch, "30 minutes. It you would like to wait, you can come with me and talk to her in the car. I promise I wont listen. I'll be the mediator." He smiled.

"That sounds great. Thanks." She said as Baralai came around the counter and places a plate full of chips, crumbed fish, a pineapple fritter and some slices of lemon. "You're a lifesaver." She said as she tried to hand him some money.

"Yuna, how many time do I have to tell you it's on the house?" he smiled as he pushed her hand back towards her, money and all.

"But 'Lai, if we are your only customers, how does this store make any money?" She asked seriously.

"We sell porn under the counter." Baralai said without a hint of humour.

Yuna's jaw dropped and her eyebrows went up into her hairline. Baralai laughed at this.

"That was classic Yuna. You really are way to gullible." He laughed some more and went back behind the counter. Yuna pouted after him.

40 minutes later Yuna and Baralai were sitting in Baralai's car in the designated pick up area at the university. They saw Paine approaching and saw her look change when she realised Yuna was in the car too. When she got there, Yuna got out of the front seat to let Paine in. (the girlfriend always gets shotgun) Before Paine got in she looked at Yuna.

"You're missing from Uni for a day and then show up in my boyfriends car… Should I be worried?" She asked jokingly.

"Its funny you should say that…" Yuna said as she quickly jumped back into the car, followed by Paine. "Hey I got into the back so you could sit in the front!" Yuna complained as Paine put her seatbelt on next to Yuna.

"Yuna, I'm not a moron. I know when something's up. You need to talk. I can tell. So spill." Yuna was amazed. Paine really was a good friend. For someone who seemed to have little to no emotion herself, she sure could read other peoples perfectly.

So Yuna told Paine the story as they drove. Baralai told them he needed to go to the shopping centre quickly because he wanted to buy a new Playstation2 game. Paine rolled her eyes but said that was ok because she needed food anyway.

Paine listened to the story and sat thinking in the car as they pulled into the shopping centre car park. They drove to the top-level entrance, which was central to the food court and the games shop. The three of them walked towards the door when Baralai stopped dead still. Paine, wondering why he had stopped, turned to face him.

"What's the matter with you?" She asked. Baralai didn't answer but simply nodded in the direction of the centre entrance. Both girls looked the direction he had nodded. And there, standing in the entrance was Seymour having a friendly conversation with a group of his friends. His new girlfriend was there, standing silently to the side, waiting for him to bark an order at her.

Seymour was being particularly friendly with one guy in particular but they couldn't see who it was because the other people were obscuring him.

"…Seymour…" Paine growled. "Who is he being so chummy with?" but as she asked the group parted as they began to walk inside.

All three let out a gasp as they saw.

Baralai was the first to speak. "Was that…Tidus?"

A/N: Hope you liked it. Please review! Kind of a crazy chapter. Was all over the place with this one! Thanks for reading. Ill update at some point !


	16. Wide Mouth Frogs

_A/N: wow this was a quick update! I realised I didn't really thank my reviewers last chapter SO THANKYOU! I'm pretty sure you all know what its like getting reviews, most ppl here write their own stories. I hope you know how much I appreciate them! Anyway read and review. Some of you might have seen this coming but I think the story is moving on nicely now!_

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**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

Yuna's mind was racing. She had to use all her will power not to run over there and ask Tidus just what the hell was going on. The problem was she didn't want to go anywhere near Seymour.

What is he doing with Seymour? I know he said he had to meet someone male, but he couldn't have meant Seymour…Could he? Yuna was confused.

"Hello, Yuna, anyone home?" Paine was waving her hand in front of Yuna's face.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"I said we don't have to go in there, we can just go home." Paine was standing with one hand on her hip, the other one in Baralai's hand.

Yuna thought on this for a while and came to a conclusion.

"No, its ok. I can ignore Seymour, and if I can get Tidus alone I can find out what's going on…" She nodded, more to herself than the others, telling herself she could do this. After all, she wasn't completely useless. She could look after herself.

She straightened her hair and took a deep breath, then began walking again, into the shopping centre.

Once inside she felt safer. The centre was filled with people so she knew nothing would happen.

"I'm going to go this way to the games shop. Are you sure you girls will be ok?" Baralai asked.

"Lai, we'll be fine. You know Paine, if something happens, she'll take care of me." Yuna said and almost laughed at the look Paine was giving Baralai.

"You know better than to imply we cant look after ourselves, Baralai." Paine said coldly, but smiled at the end when Baralai nodded and smiled.

"Ok, but just don't do anything… crazy, ok?" Baralai gave an accusing look at Paine and then turned and walked into the crowd.

"Ok, so you wanted food?" Yuna looked at Paine. Paine nodded and both women began to walk towards the food court.

As they walked, Yuna's mind continued to churn and her stomach did summersaults every time she saw someone that had even the lightest resemblance to Tidus or Seymour.

"Paine… Was it really Tidus we saw? I mean, could it have been someone else?" Yuna kept her gaze focused on the ground as she walked, relying on the fact that Paine wouldn't walk them into people. "I mean, he wouldn't, would he? Damn it Paine, I slept with him!" She looked at her friend now and she had tears in her eyes.

Paine stopped now, "Yuna, I don't know. All I know is that it sure looked like him. Yuna, I'm so sorry. I should have been more careful. I'm normally such a good judge of character, but I… I just didn't see this." Paine crossed her arms and frowned, angry with herself for letting Yuna get hurt again. She couldn't look her friend in the face. Couldn't stand to see Yuna's pleading eyes that begged for all this to be a mistake. She couldn't look into the eyes that had only just started to return to normal from a terrible past…

"Paine… This isn't your fault. I made my own decision and… and it was wrong… I made the wrong decision. But…" Yuna started walking again back towards the food court, Paine started after her and caught up, looked at Yuna as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"But what?" Paine asked, putting her hand gently on Yuna's arm.

"But it just felt so right. He said all the right things. He was…" Yuna looked up ahead, her eyes were glassy from tears that refused to come now. "He was perfect…"

Paine moved her arm so that it was around Yuna's shoulder and they walked in silence the rest of the way to the food court.

Paine got her food, Yuna having already eaten at the fish shop, and sat down at a table that was in the corner so as not to make them to visible. As Paine ate, Yuna continued to talk.

"I just don't understand it… The other day he was kicking Seymour in the head and now he's best friends with him? What is it about men and their ability to crush me? I think I could take on the world and win, but one man can bring me to this… This mess? Ahhhh..." Yuna put her head in her hands and sighed. Just then Paine's phone rang. She looked at the number and clicked it open.

"Hey. Yeah were fine. In the food court. Far left corner. Yeah ok, see you soon." Paine clicked the phone closed and frowned.

"You know you're lucky to have Baralai. He's a great guy… why can't I find a guy like that…?" Yuna smiled at Paine.

"Yeah he's a great guy but I don't know where he gets it from… Not his father that's for sure." Paine frowned even more, and glared at her phone. She then looked up at Yuna and grinned. "Yuna I can read you like a book. You're thinking that you want to know what the problem is, but you don't want to ask because you think it's rude." Yuna blushed smiled herself. 'Well I'll ask him later if its ok that I tell you. Or maybe he can tell you himself, that might be better. Besides, I'm more worried about you. What are you going to do?"

Yuna sighed. "I just don't know, Paine. I suppose I just really need to talk to him. It might just be a big misunderstanding…" Paine gave Yuna a doubtful look. "I know. I know what I saw and it wasn't good. But I need to know why. And the only way to find out is to ask him, right?" Paine nodded and finished her meal. The girls sat in silence for a moment, both thinking about each other's problems and their own.

"Hey." Baralai's voice interrupted the silence. "Is everything alright? You girls seem a little more quiet than normal." He sat down at their table and looked at the girls.

"Oh hi Baralai. We were just thinking about stuff." Yuna answered.

"Yes I guessed as much." He answered. "So have you come to any conclusions?"

"Only that I want to talk to him. Just see him one more time so that I know why…" Yuna answered.

"Well that's fair enough. Do you want to go look for him now?" Baralai was always being the organised one.

"No. I'm not that eager… But if I see him…"

"Ok, well let's get going. I'm kinda tired from uni… I could use some couch time…" Paine said and she began to stand up. Yuna and Baralai both nodded, not wanting to argue with Paine when she is tired.

As they approached the car, Baralai pressed the unlock button on the remote and it beeped twice. Just as Yuna was getting in the car, Paine spoke.

"Uh, Yuna. Look…" She nodded towards the shopping centre entrance. Yuna looked up and saw someone she wanted to see but didn't want to see at the same time. Tidus was running towards the car waving and smiling.

"Bother…Ahhhhh" Yuna grumbled to herself.

"Go on Yuna. Now's your chance!" Baralai gave her a smile.

"Ahh, I know I said I wanted to talk to him but I didn't mean NOW! I need some time to think about what I want to say!"

"Just say what you feel. You're better off not thinking about things like this. Just say whatever comes to mind and I'm sure it will be what you want." Paine gave Yuna a small shove out the car. "We'll be right here." She looked at Baralai and he nodded.

Yuna took a deep breath and got out of the car.

"Hey Babe! I though I nearly missed you!" Tidus puffed as he went to out his arms around Yuna. Yuna, however, would have no part in this and put her hand against his chest and gently pushed him away. It took Tidus a moment to see the look in Yuna's eyes and another moment to work out what it was. Disappointment.

"Yuna, what's the matter?" Tidus asked, trying once again to touch Yuna's shoulder, only to be brushed off again.

"Think about it Tidus." Yuna said, not angrily, but more sad than anything else. She still couldn't look him directly in the eyes, for fear she would break down.

"Think about what? What's wrong, Yuna?" he asked again, hoping that the next line that came out of her mouth wasn't going to be 'if you don't know I'm not going to tell you' just like all the other girls. He bent down a bit and tried to look her in the eyes, but she turned her face away and stared at the cement car park floor. Confused, Tidus looked up to the car where Baralai and Paine sat, watching them. But as he looked both looked away and pretended not to be interested.

_Right,_ He thought. _ Something is definitely wrong here._ "Yuna what the hell is going on, why are you angry? What happened?" Tidus grabbed Yuna's chin and gently but firmly pulled it upwards so finally she had nowhere else to look but into his eyes. That's when he saw the tears. Through his hand on her chin, Tidus could fell Yuna tremble and tried to hug her, only this time she shoved him more violently in the chest and he stumbled backwards.

"What the fuck, Yuna?" He got his balance and straightened his shirt. "What the hell was that for?" he walked forward and grabbed both her shoulders that were clearly shaking now. Yuna tried to shake him off but Tidus refused to let go. _Not until I know what this is all about. I'm going to lose you that easily, Yuna,_ he thought.

"Just don't touch me!" Yuna cried out, still trying to release herself from Tidus strong grip. His hands were beginning to hurt her shoulders as she struggled.

"Not until you tell me what the fuck is going on!" Tidus said, his anger at not knowing what he had done wrong was beginning to get the better of him…

"Tidus, you're hurting me…" Yuna still tried to worm her way out of his grasp.

"Just tell me what's wrong!" he half yelled at her.

"Or what, Tidus?" Yuna cried as tears streamed down her cheeks freely now. Tidus looked at her confused now. "OR WHAT TIDUS? You'll beat me and rape me just like your best buddy Seymour?" At this statement Tidus' grip loosened completely and Yuna smacked his arms away. Tidus took a step back.

"But I… I don't underst…." He began, shaking his head in confusion.

"Don't be ridiculous, Tidus. And don't you DARE lie to me. You owe me that much at least." Yuna was furiously trying to wipe the tears from her face.

"But Yuna, it's the truth! I have no idea what you're…."

"I saw you with him!" she cried out loud and clenched her hands into white fists at her sides in frustration.

"Saw me with who?" Tidus was equally as frustrated with the situation as Yuna was, only for different reasons.

"I saw you with Seymour! We all did!" She threw her arm in a gesture behind her, motioning to Paine and Baralai, who both swiftly pretended to be doing something other than watching the arguing couple. "And you sure as hell looked pretty chummy together!" She crossed her arms, frustration replaced by anger.

"What? Are we talking about the same Seymour that I fly kicked the other day?" Yuna's eyes narrowed. "The same Seymour that, inadvertently, had me on the receiving end of two black eyes?" Yuna's eyes narrowed more, now they were tiny angry slits. "Yuna I haven't seen him since that day at McDonalds! I just finished my meeting and was about to come and see you…" he pointed to where his bike sat, not 6 spaces away from Baralai's car.

"Yeah, your meeting with Seymour…" Yuna added venomously.

"Yuna, I swear to you I haven't seen him since that day. That's the honest truth!" Tidus promised and took a step nearer to her.

"Then tell me, Tidus. Who was it you were meeting today?" She said, emotionless.

Tidus sighed and looked down at the cement, then, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips he looked up at Yuna. Her face was full of so many emotions: hope and fear, disappointment and defeat, distrust… just to name a few.

"I came here to meet…" But he was interrupted by a shout from the shopping centre doors.

"Tiduuuuusssss!" A male voice called. The both looked up, Yuna half expecting to see Seymour, and Tidus knowing whom the voice belonged to.

Yuna watched, gob-smacked, as a man, about Tidus' age, with blonde hair, cut the same as Tidus', eyes the same blue within blue as Tidus', in fact almost everything about him was Tidus, but not, at the same time.

"That was close. I thought I'd missed you. Can you give me a lift back to the hotel?" The blonde man asked Tidus seemingly unaware of the surprised Yuna and her even more surprised friends sitting in the car behind them... Yuna gave a small 'eh' noise and the newcomer looked at her. "Oh hey. I'm…." But he stopped talking as soon as he looked at her face, his hand out stretched in an offer for Yuna to shake it only she didn't, but he didn't move it away either.

Tidus sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Deciding this was a good a time as any for introductions.

". Shuyin, this is my girlfriend Yuna. At least I hope you're still my girlfriend." He turned to look at Yuna at the last statement. Then he continued. "And the two in the car over there that look like wide mouth frogs are Paine and Baralai. Yuna, this is my twin brother, Shuyin"

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_A/N : DUN DUN DUUUUMNNNN! Ok ok I know everyone makes Shuyin and Tidus brothers or twins or whatever, but it's hard to get everyone from ffx2 into a story WITHOUT making them siblings, is it not? Anyways please review, Im already working on the next chapter so it shouldnt be a long wait!  
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	17. MeatoSaurus

_A/N: wow, this is a really long chapter, ne? A lot of things are explained in this chappy, and I dunno if I did it well. I mean if I missed anything, let me know. I wrote this kinda late at night and maybe forgot something. Anyways thanks for all the good review and stuff. I love getting them. Read, enjoy, and review!_

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**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

Tidus looked at both the people standing in front of him. Yuna was gob smacked. She stared at the man named Shuyin without being aware of it. He was a splitting image of Tidus. But that's what twins were, right? But since when did Tidus have a brother? He'd never even hinted to it before. She took in every inch of Shuyin's face. It was a little slimmer than Tidus'. His nose was different as well, but from a distance they would seem identical. But it was their eyes that really told them apart. Where Tidus' sparkled with a light blue-within-blue, Shuyin's were darker, like looking into a dark blue opal.

Yuna was so busy staring at Shuyin, she didn't notice the fact that he was staring right back at her. He noticed that her face was slightly rounder than he remembered. Her eyes seemed younger as well. _ This wasn't her._ Shuyin thought to himself. _Lenne's eyes had always seemed kind of sad…this woman's eyes are nothing like Lenne's. Damn it just accept the fact that she's not coming back…_ Shuyin mentally chided himself and shook his head, once more offering his hand to Yuna.

"Hi, nice to meet you." He said politely. Yuna blinked a few times and then took his hand gingerly and shook it unsteadily.

"Well, this is awkward…" Tidus rubbed the back of his neck again. Yuna laughed nervously, as she realised that it was probably Shuyin she had seen earlier with Seymour.

Not wanting to bring it up in front of Shuyin, she gently put her arm on Tidus' and quietly asked, "Tidus… Can I talk to you for a minute… uh, alone, if that's ok…" She gave a small smile to Shuyin.

"Oh, sorry, of course… Tidus, I'll be over by your bike." Shuyin gave a small nod of the head towards Yuna as a farewell. She nodded shyly back.

Once Shuyin was out of hearing range, Yuna looked at Tidus. "I'm so sorry, Tidus. I jumped to conclusions and I shouldn't have." She didn't hesitate to apologise. Tidus took her in a warm hug.

"I think it's me who should be saying sorry. I should have just told you. But there's so much more you need to know and I don't wanna tell you in the car park. He broke the hug and held her shoulders gently at arms length so he could look at her face. She had a concerned look and he smiled at her. "It's ok, it will just take a while that's all. I need to take Shuyin back to the hotel soon, but I can drop by your place after that. In about 2 hours?" he reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind Yuna's ear.

"Are you sure? I meant what I said earlier today. You don't have to tell me until you want too…"

"No, its ok. I need to tell you. I've _wanted_ to tell you since I met you. I just never found the right words. So I,ll be around your place at about 8ish, k?" he raised his eyebrows in question.

"Yeah k. I'll be waiting…" She gave Tidus a sly smile and reached up and kissed him.

They broke the kiss and Tidus trotted over to where Shuyin and his bike were. Yuna didn't move for a bit, and when Tidus turned around and waved, she waved back and began to make her way to the car.

As she opened the car door she heard Tidus' bike start up and watched as it drove past her. Tidus with his bright yellow helmet on and Shuyin wearing a Dark metallic purple one with a black symbol on the back. Yuna furrowed her brows in thought and got into the car. It took her a few seconds to realise that both Paine and Baralai had swivelled around and were staring at her. She just blinked at them.

"Well, what the hell was all that about?" Paine finally asked when Yuna still didn't say anything.

"Uh, I don't really know…" Yuna said as she tilted her head in thought

"Who was that second Tidus?" Baralai asked.

"That was Tidus' twin brother, Shuyin." Yuna said matter-of-factly.

"Twin brother?" Paine's eyes went wide.

"Well that would explain it." Baralai commented, more to himself than the others.

"Yes. It wasn't Tidus with Seymour. It was Shuyin." Yuna said. Baralai turned around and started the car and began to leave the car park. They all sat in silence for a moment. Then Yuna spoke, "But what is Tidus' twin brother doing with Seymour?" Yuna asked to no one in particular. Paine turned around and gave Yuna a concerned look and Baralai glanced in the rear-view mirror with the same look. Yuna scratched her head. She had that horrible feeling in her belly that her life was about to get really complicated

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Yuna and Paine walked into the house after Baralai had dropped them off. As soon as the door had closed, Rikku came storming down the stairs and was in their faces before they had even walked 5 steps inside.

"And where were you today, young lady?" She pointed an accusing finger at Yuna who sighed and looked at Rikku.

"It's a long story Rikku, can I sit down first?"

"I don't think so! Just because you get laid doesn't mean u can bail on me!" Rikku put her hands on her hips and stood with her legs shoulder width apart in a small attempt to stop Yuna from walking past her.

"Rikku, I…" Yuna started but was interrupted by Paine, who put her hands on Yuna's shoulders from behind and began to direct her towards the lounge.

"Yuna, sit. Rikku, make Yuna a tea." She shot Rikku a glance that said 'protest at your own peril' and Rikku promptly shut her mouth from where a complaint had been about to come. Deciding it was easier to make a tea than deal with Paine, Rikku made her way to the kitchen.

"Ok, but I want an explanation as to why you're both acting weird as soon as I come back."

Yuna sat down on the couch and leaned back, tilting hear head and staring at the ceiling in thought.

"Do you want to talk about it? I can always drag Rikku away by the hair if need be…" Paine sat next to Yuna leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees as she looked at her friend.

"No, its ok. I think we all need to know what's going on. I mean, you two are pretty much sisters to me and if can't talk to family, who can I talk to?" Yuna looked over at Paine and smiled to which Paine gave a half grin back. "But I'll wait for Rikku to come back. And besides, its not like I know the whole thing yet either. Tidus said he was going to come round later and talk to me."

"Do you want me and Rikku to make ourselves scarce?"

"Actually I was kind of hoping you guys would stay. I want Tidus to tell all three of us. That way I don't have to waste time telling you both later." Yuna smiled again.

"Are you sure he's going to want to tell us?" Paine asked referring to herself and Rikku.

"Well, I don't think he'd mind. Plus I think he knows I'd just tell you later."

"That's true." Paine now leaned back onto the couch and waited for Rikku to come back.

Rikku came back with three mugs in her hands, one a white tea with two sugars, one a straight black coffee and the other a hot chocolate with three sugars. Placing them on the coasters on the small coffee table, she sat cross-legged on the single recliner next to the sofa.

"So, spill. From the beginning." Rikku said as she picked up the hot chocolate and blew gently on it cooling it down.

Yuna took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I slept with Tidus last night…."

"Well DUH!" Rikku rolled her eyes "I could have told you THAT was gonna happen…"

"Rikku, if you want Yuna to tell her story, then you have to stop butting in." Paine gave her a stare.

"Tch. Fine…" Rikku pouted and Yuna smiled. She was so glad to have Rikku and Paine. She didn't know what she would do without them. She continued her story.

"So anyway, today at about lunchtime, Tidus got a call on his mobile phone. He seemed really angry at who ever was calling and told then he would meet up with them later today. I asked him who it was but he looked like he really didn't want to tell me so I told him not to worry and that he would tell me when he was ready…" Rikku gave Yuna a 'I bet it was another girl' look so Yuna added that he had promised it was a male. "So after he left, I needed someone to talk to so I walked down to the fish shop and told Baralai, who told me he wasn't to good at things like this so I was better of talking to Paine about it.

"So I waited at the shop until Baralai finished and we drove together to pick up Paine from Uni. So after being scolded about not being there, I told Paine what had happened. Before we came home, Baralai said he needed to do some shopping, so we headed for the shopping centre. We were just walking in when we saw Seymour." Rikku's eyes went wide with concern. "But the more worrying part was who he was with. It was Tidus! And they were being _really_ friendly! So anyway, after we got some food and Lai had done his shopping we were about to leave the car park when Tidus came running up.  
Paine and Baralai convinced me to go and talk to him and ask him why he had been with Seymour so I asked him and…" Yuna stopped.

"AND?" Rikku, always the impatient one..

"And it wasn't him. It was Shuyin with Seymour."

"Who's Shuyin?" Rikku asked, getting very confused.

"Tidus' twin brother." Paine added as if it was common knowledge by this stage as to who Shuyin was.

"Twin brother?" Rikku asked, her eyes wide with shock.

"That's what I said…" Paine smiled.

"Well this IS a mystery, isn't it?" Rikku was getting excited. Paine just rolled her eyes.

"What I'd like to know, is the same thing you asked earlier, Yuna. What was Tidus' twin brother doing with Seymour?"

"Hey yeah!" Rikku added and looked at Yuna.

"Well that's what I'm hoping Tidus will tell me when he comes over…" Yuna took a sip from her tea and wrapped her fingers around the warm mug.

"Ooooh when's he coming?" Rikku asked, getting even more excited at all this drama and intrigue.

"About 8ish he said." At that comment all three looked up at the clock, which showed five minutes to seven.

"Hrm, maybe I should make some dinner…" Rikku spoke just as her stomach made an angry growl at her.

"Well, I just ate so I'm not hungry but you two go ahead." Paine said as she sipped at her coffee.

"I'm not overly hungry either, but I could eat something little. Maybe you could just order pizza?" Yuna said.

"Mmm, pizza…"Rikku considered it. "Saves me from cooking I suppose."

"And saves Yuna from having to EAT your cooking…" Paine added as Yuna laughed and Rikku threw a cushion at Paine, knocking the coffee cup in her hand and spilling hot liquid onto her lap.

"Oh shit…" Rikku jumped up and ran to the bathroom, locking herself in, with Paine in hot pursuit mumbling something about 'hurt time'. Yuna just laughed more and thanked her lucky stars to have those two in her life for the second time in only a few minutes.

Yuna sighed and stood up. _I suppose I have to order the pizza now…_ she thought as she heard the squeals from Rikku and the thumping sound of a fist on a door. Just as she was about to pick up the phone, she heard her mobile phone ringing from her bag.

She ran the get it and looked at the number on the screen. She didn't know it but she flipped it open and answered it anyway.

"Hello, Yuna speaking."

"Oh I'm sorry, I must have got the wrong number. This is Al. I was looking for Betty." Tidus' voice came from the other end of the line.

"Oh hang on Ill just get her, Al." Yuna giggled as she jokingly called out, "Betty, Al's on the phone!" then she spoke into the receiver again. "Hello, this is Betty."

Tidus laughed. "You know how long it took me to figure out what name you had put your number in under?"

Yuna smiled as she remembered the night before when Tidus had sung the line from the song, and that she had put her name in his phone as 'Betty'. "Well I knew you would figure it out sooner or later."

"Yeah, that's true." Tidus admitted.

"So why did you call?" Yuna asked.

"Just to hear your voice." Tidus said and Yuna could tell he was smirking.

"Don't be an arse. What's the real reason?" Yuna laughed.

"I'm serious! What, you don't believe me?" Tidus acted shocked.

"Well, yes, but there must be another reason."

"Ok, you got me. I'm just at the pizza place getting some food. You girls want a pizza?" he asked.

"Oh my god…"

"What?" Tidus asked, suddenly worried.

"Just before you rang I had my hand on the phone about to ring the pizza shop and order a pizza!" Yuna laughed.

"Hah. Well what do you want?"

"You." Yuna smiled.

"Don't be an arse. What do you really want." He said, copying Yuna's previous statement.

"I'm serious! What, you don't believe me?" Yuna laughed as she mocked him.

"Oh, no, I believe you. I mean, who doesn't want me? But I was talking about pizzas, not sexy blondes…" Tidus laughed.

"Ooohhhhh…" Yuna feigned understanding. "In THAT case, we'll have a thin crust Meat-o-Saurus with extra cheese." She said, knowing exactly what pizza Rikku liked.

"Hey, are we still talking about me here?" Tidus asked jokingly.

"You think you're a meat-o-saurus?"

"Well maybe not, but I'm extra cheesy…" He laughed when he said that. 'Nar but seriously, I'll get your pizza and be round in about half an hour, ok?"

"Yeah sure. See you then." Yuna answered.

"Ok, see-ya babe."

"Bye." Yuna clicked her phone shut after adding Tidus number to her phonebook under the name Al. Tossing her phone onto the couch, she could still hear Rikku and Paine battling it out so she flicked on the TV. _ Great, more reality show crap. I HATE that LeBlanc lady and I don't even watch this show…_ Yuna thought as she watched another one of those stupid shows where they throw a bunch of complete strangers into a house and video them 24/7. What was wrong with TV these days…?

Yuna sat there for about 10 minutes until Paine came and sat next to her.

"You didn't kill her did you?" Yuna asked jokingly.

"No. I spared her life… This time. But next time she wont be so lucky." Paine was so serious, that if Yuna didn't know her, she would have thought she was serious.

Instead she just smiled. "Well I'm glad to hear she's ok."

"Hey, I just said I didn't kill her. I never said she was ok…" Paine smiled now and Yuna laughed. They sat in silence for a bit and watched the TV. "I hate this show. It's so pointless. But more than I hate this show, I hate that stupid woman LeBlanc. I can't wait until she gets voted off." Paine growled and picked up the remote to change the channel. She clicked it once and the news came on the screen.

A bland looking anchorman spoke from behind a desk, "In the headlines tonight, a major drug bust went sour last night when the police…"

"I hate news, its more depressing than reality TV…" Paine added as she changed the channel again. A stern looking Japanese face appeared on the screen. "Ah, good old Iron Chef." Paine put the remote back on the table and Yuna laughed. "What? I happen to like this show!" Paine protested. Both girls sat and watched Iron Chef for about 15 minutes until they both looked up at the sound of a motorbike pulling up outside. Yuna grinned like an idiot as she got up to open the door a little to enthusiastically and almost tripped over the coffee table. Paine just rolled her eyes.

Yuna opened the door and smiled at Tidus who was standing there holding two pizzas and a bottle of coke. "Someone order pizza?" He asked as he leaned in and kissed Yuna softly on the lips. "Hey." He greeted her.

"Hey, come in."

Tidus walked in and put the pizzas on the dinning table. He waved at Paine who waved back and then turned around back to the TV, trying to hide how much she really wanted to know what was going on.

"Where's Rikku?" Tidus asked as he looked around for the perky blond.

"Hiding from Paine…" Yuna smiled and opened one of the pizza boxes to see if it was hers. "How much do we owe you?" She asked.

"Nar don't worry about it. My treat." He grinned.

"Rikkku!" Yuna called out. " The pizza's here!"

"I'm not coming out until Paine swears not to hurt me again!" Came Rikku's reply from her locked bedroom.

"I promise not to hurt you!" Paine called. And then added "Until Tidus leaves…" too quietly for Rikku to hear. Tidus and Yuna smiled, then they all heard a door open slowly, followed by slow, cautious steps coming down the stairs. A blonde head peaked around the wall and surveyed the scene. Deciding it was safe, Rikku walked out to the table and took a piece of pizza.

"All Right! Meat-o-saurus! My favourite!" She exclaimed and punched upwards in the air, as if doing a little victory dance.

"Tidus brought it so you should thank him." Yuna added.

"Oh hey Tidush, thankff fo thish…" Rikku said with a mouth-full of pizza.

Tidus grinned, "Anytime, mate."

Rikku went over to the couch and carefully sat as far away from Paine as she could with a little nervous giggle.

Yuna walked up to Tidus as hugged him. She then whispered into his ear. "Is it ok if Rikku and Paine listen to your story? It's just that they are both a huge part in my life and I'd probably end up having to tell them later anyway. So it would just save me some trouble." She leaned back to look at his face, and was surprised to see him smiling.

"Of course they can. I was actually going to suggest they listen, because, well just because. " He looked like he was confusing himself as well as Yuna so he took her hand and grabbed the pizza boxes with the other and made his way over to the lounge room.

As he sat down, Paine reached up and grabbed the remote, turning the TV off.

Tidus sighed and rubbed the back of his head, a nervous gesture he had begun to do way too much…

"Ok so I 'spose I should tell you guys my story…." Tidus began.

"Wait you're telling Paine and me as well?" Rikku butted in. Paine gave her a glare that told her not to butt in again.

"Well I think you guys would find out anyway." Tidus gave a small smile at Yuna who blushed back. "Ok well, where to start… I guess from the beginning, right? … I didn't move to this city because my dad got a transfer. In fact my dad disappeared about 10 years ago, Shuyin and I never saw him again. Not that either of us really cared, he was a jerk. He never had anything nice to say about either Shuyin or I.

Anyway, I'm going off track. So a few years later, Mum became really depressed after she realised Dad wasn't coming back. She stopped eating, stopped caring, stopped everything. She just gave up. That's when she got sick. I spose her body couldn't handle the depression her mind was putting it though. She died a few months after getting sick. The doctors said there was nothing they could do.

Before she left, she made Shuyin and I promise to each other that no matter where our lives took us, we would always stay in contact with each other and always be civil. See, Shuyin and I… There are only a couple of things we have in common with each other. One is our looks, two is the fact that we despise our Dad. We both kinda blame him for what happened to Mum. But as far as similarities go, that's where it ends. Our personalities clash like a wrecking ball against a 12-foot thick steel wall.

So anyway, Shuyin and I moved in with our neighbours when Mum died. We stayed there until Shuyin and I finished school. Shu ended up dating their daughter, Lenne, during school. I spose it was the typical boy next door thing… Anyway, we both started Uni, and then it happened.

Lenne disappeared. _POOF!_ Just like that. Gone. Shuyin took it pretty badly. Kept blaming everyone he knew. He even tried to blame me and told me it was because I kept hitting on her. Truth be told, Lenne was not my type at all. Sure she was beautiful, but she just wasn't, I dunno... She wasn't for me.

So anyway, as I was saying, one day Lenne just didn't come home. Her parents took it just as bad as Shu did. They blamed him, and because I was his brother, they took it out on me too. Soon after her disappearance, Shuyin started to hang out with the wrong crowd. He started using drugs and generally just being a bad guy. That's when I severed everything I had with him. That's when I moved here.

We made a promise years ago that every year on the anniversary of Mum's death we would meet up and spend a few hours together, no matter where we were, just to keep our promise. We couldn't bring her back, but we could make her happy, where ever she is now.

Mum died almost 7 years ago today. That was today. That's who I was meeting. I was meeting Shuyin." Tidus finally finished. He looked completely worn out. Like blurting out all that emotional stuff had really drawn out all his energy. Yuna looked into his eyes, but instead of sadness, she just saw emptiness.

"Um, that still doesn't explain what Shuyin was doing with Seymour today." Paine spoke what the others were all thinking.

"Shu wouldn't tell me. He said it was none of my business, which usually means it has something to do with drugs. Does Seymour do drugs?" Tidus asked Yuna.

"No. Definitely not. But I'm sure who knows people who do." She answered

"Well, that would be the reason, no doubt about it." Tidus shook his head sadly.

Well. I suppose that explains everything. I have a lot of thinking to do tonight." Yuna put her chin into her hands and rested her elbows on her knees.

"Well… Almost everything…" Paine looked accusingly at Yuna.

"Hey YEAH!" Rikku jumped up and pointed an accusing finger at Yuna. "None of this explains why you didn't come to classes today, Yuna!…."

* * *

_A/N: Well another chappy. This story is getting big now. Wow. heh. Neways I hope u all understood. Let me know what u think. It sounds kinda reslved, but there are more suprises to come... trust me... Im Asutralian... heh _


	18. I Know Who You Are

A/N: Wow another chapter! And so soon! You have no idea what the world threw at me to stop me from writing this chapter. I will list but 2. one was the entire series of subbed FullMetal Achemist. An Awesome anime btw, And two, I finally got a copy or World Of Warcraft. Awesome game. Neways, I'm not a huge can of cats, so for fear of Rubymuto's cat (I could handlt an angry mob) I thought I had better update… Thanks to all you guys who review. Makes me feel special… heh… Neways, on with the show.

**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

Yuna laughed at Rikku.

"I'm sorry Rikku, you're right. It doesn't explain why I wasn't in classes. I guess I just slept in. I don't remember setting my alarm…" Yuna smiled as she thought back to that night.

"Well that's simply not a good enough reason!" Rikku pouted and put her hands on her hips. "I think you should be punished."

"You know… I hate to say this…" Paine crossed her arms, "but I agree with Rikku…"

At this Tidus laughed, the normal sparkle returning to his eyes. Yuna looked at him but something about him wasn't right, she was she there was something he still wasn't telling her. She thought of asking him about it but she didn't want to darken the mood again.

"Ohhhh punishment. That sounds fun…" Tidus grinned mischievously at Yuna as he lent over and gave her a sly kiss.

Rikku's face lit up as if she had just been stuck on the head by the proverbial light bulb. "No Tidus for TWO WHOLE days! That's the punishment!"

Both Yuna and Tidus spun around to face Rikku with their mouths open in silent protest. Paine Actually laughed.

"You know, Rikku, there may be hope for you yet." She smiled. "Yes, I agree with Rikku. Seeing as how it takes two to tango, you both should be punished, and what better way to do it? Beside Yuna, exams are soon and we can't have you missing more classes…" Yuna pouted even harder at Paine's rational explanation. But two whole days? They had only just met and now they weren't allowed to see each other?

"Oh that sounds fair. I don't want to interrupt your studies, Yuna…" He looked at her and something in his eyes told her he was planning something.

"That's the spirit!" Rikku applauded Tidus' agreement to the punishment.

"So no seeing each other until Wednesday night. Deal?" Paine asked?

"Deal!" Tidus nodded. Yuna looked worried. She eyed Tidus again, but the mischief in his eyes was either gone, or very well hidden.

"Well… I don't like your plan. It sucks. But I suppose I have to go along with it to shut you two up…" She looked at Paine and Rikku and they both nodded. "Ok, well do I at least get to finish the pizza and say goodbye?" She asked.

"Ok. But no more than, uh, 10 minutes!" Rikku sat back down and watched as Yuna got up and got the pizza. They all ate together, talking about unimportant things that didn't dampen the mood.

When they had finished eating, Paine and Rikku watched as Tidus and Yuna walked hand in hand through the front door. "TEN MINUTES!" Rikku called after then as a reminder. She was answered by the door being closed behind them and Paine smirking.

Tidus and Yuna stood near his bike in the cool night air. The moon was high in the sky as Tidus bent down and kissed Yuna so passionately her knees buckled. When he pulled away, she looked up at him and saw that same darkness hiding behind his eyes.

"I'm sorry I lied to you, Yuna… I didn't want to, it's just that my past isn't something I like to talk about. Out of sight, out of mind, ya know?"

"Mmm" Yuna agreed. "Although," She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his shoulder, "I know there are things you're still not telling me." She whispered into the night, so quietly that Tidus almost didn't hear her. His eyes began to feel dry so he squeezed them shut, as if turning off his link with his past. He wrapped his arms around Yuna's smaller figure, placing a gentle hand upon the back of her head, feeling her soft hair beneath his slightly calloused fingertips. He buried them into the stands as if wiping then clean and hugged Yuna closer, greedily taking in the warmth of her body as the cold atmosphere tugged him away from her.

" 'If we are to survive, we must find the home we have lost…' " Tidus hugged Yuna closer still. "Someone told me a story once and when I see you next I'll tell it to you. But for now, trust that I have told you all I can. I'll take you up on that promise of being able to tell you when I'm ready…" He whispered into Yuna's hair and then pulled back, with his hands on her shoulders, and looked at her for approval. She smiled at him and he kissed her forehead. "Thanks." He let her go and went to put his helmet on.

"See you in 2 days." Yuna said,

"It's gonna seem more like 2 years…" Tidus said though his helmet as he straddled his bike.

He flipped down the visor and as soon as his face was gone from her sight, Yuna had that strange feeling in her belly like something wasn't quite right. Shaking her head and waving goodbye as he drove down the street, Yuna sighed and decided the queasy feeling in her stomach was just its way of telling her she ate too much pizza. Running her fingers through here hair as if still feeling Tidus' there, she turned and walked solemnly back inside.

Rikku and Paine turned from their conversation on the couch when they heard the front door open and watched as Yuna walked over to them and sat down.

"I hope he's going to be ok…" Yuna said as she sat back and brought her knees up.

"He'll be fine! He has to survive 2 days if he wants to see you!" Rikku said happily. "And besides, I know for a fact that absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"You know, this is getting scary…" Paine commented.

"What is?" Rikku looked at her.

"The fact that I'm starting to agree with you a lot more than I used too. Its quite disturbing…" Paine smiled at Rikku who pursed her lips in an attempt not to say anything, for fear of retribution.

Yuna laughed at her friends and yawned. "Wow, I suddenly got really tired. Maybe I should get some sleep tonight…"

"I'm gonna bang on your door tomorrow to make sure you go to uni…" Rikku added as Yuna stood up and made her way to the stairs.

"Please do, I feel like I could sleep for a 100 years so I probably won't wake up with just my alarm clock." Yuna turned and waved to Rikku and Paine before continuing up the stairs and into her room.

Rikku turned to Paine when Yuna was out of earshot and asked, "Do you think we did the right thing? I mean is not really our place to tell Yunie what she can and can't do…"

"I don't think Yuna would have agreed to it if she didn't think it was a good idea. To be honest with you, I think she may be a little… frighted… of the intensity of it all. She really does need to do a lot of thinking and I believe that to do that she needs to spend some time away from what it is she needs to think about." Paine was staring off into the distance, as if the words she was saying were coming from somewhere else, some other situation that was running through her head.

"You know, sometimes I think my advanced programming book makes more sense than you do." Rikku laughed and Paine turned slowly with a smile. Although she didn't always show it, Paine valued her two housemates more than anything she ever had. They accepted her for who she was, and in return, as a kind of payment for their understanding, she would do the same; accept them, just as they were. _Isn't that what it means to be a friend?_ She thought to herself. "Thanks Rikku." She said sincerely.

"Uh, Ooookaayyy…" Rikku looked nervous. "Who are you and what have you done with Paine…" She asked with a smile.

"Don't get to used to it." Paine smiled again and Rikku returned her smile warmly. "I'm just glad you and Yuna are here, that's all."

"I'm glad you're here too, Paine." Rikku leapt up and jumped on Paine as she hugged the older girl. To Rikku's surprise, Paine hugged back.

The two girls stayed like that, in comfortable friendship, for a few minutes until Paine stirred. "Ok, I'm going to go to bed. You should too. We all have uni tomorrow."

"Mmm" Rikku nodded and stood up, pulling Paine with her. Both girls made their way to their rooms and just before Rikku closed her door she called quietly to Paine. "You should be friendly more often. It suits you." She smiled and yawned.

"I'll think about it." Paine smirked in reply and closed her door quietly, followed by Rikku.

As Paine and Rikku were talking, Yuna lay in her bed, slowly drifting off to sleep as all the thoughts of the last few days raced though her mind. Finally her eyes closed and she slept. As she slept she dreamt…

It felt like she was awake, but somehow she knew she wasn't. It was dark. She could hear soft whistle type noises and quiet moaning as if thousands of voices we softly calling to her. The ground where she lay was soft, but it wasn't her bed. She moved her fingers slightly and realised that it felt more like leaves, or grass.

She could hear water falling, but there was no sound coming from where it should have been hitting the ground. The air smelt strongly of flowers, so strong that the scent irritated her nose. It was almost as if she had her face pressed into a bouquet.

A small breeze swept across her, tugging gently at her hair. This roused her curiosity. Wondering where she was, she slowing opened her eyes. Blinking at first to adjust to the light. There WERE flowers. Everywhere! They were right in front of her face. White ones, cream ones, blue ones, purple ones. Flowers like none she had ever seen before.

She slowly brought her arms underneath her and pushed herself up to a sitting position. Looking slowing around, she saw that she was on some kind of plateau, covered in the strange flowers.

All around her small lights danced, leaving behind them a trail of multicoloured luminescent sparkles. She could see now the source of the water sound. From various other plateaus around her crystal clear water was cascading from their edges. Lights in the sky that reminded her of pictures she had seen of the aurora borealis lights in the northern hemisphere waved and shimmered, casting an eerie green light across everything she saw.

Slowing getting to her feet, she watched as one the small balls of lights spun around her. Turning slowing to follow it as it went behind her, her body suddenly started to tingle. A blue-ish glow shimmered from her clothes and out of the blue came dozens of glowing balls of light.

_What's happening?_ She wondered as she kept watching the balls swim around her. Suddenly something off in the distance caught her eye, a movement. Staring at it more intently, she realised that a man was walking towards her. She had a sudden stirring in her heart, the man looked like Tidus and she felt as if she hadn't seen him for years. He heart leapt to her throat as he spoke.

"I've finally found you…"

Still not believing she replied, "Is that…really you?"

"It is me: Shuyin. I've waited so long… Lenne…"

Realising it wasn't Tidus; she spun away from Shuyin, not wanting him to see her disappointment. "But I'm not Lenne…" she whispered quietly into the distance.

"Lenne. I looked for you for so long. While I wandered, I realized something: this world hasn't really changed at all. Everyone's still fighting over nothing. Still dying like they used to. So long has passed and they can't leave the hatred behind.

I'm through waiting. I'll fix it. This world continues to fail us, and what's worse, I failed to protect you." Although Yuna couldn't see him, she heard the leather of his gloves creak as he clenched his fist. "Seymour will make that all go away. And we'll fade again, together. Help me do it, Lenne."

By the closeness of his voice, Yuna could tell Shuyin was standing right behind her. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her neck. It sent a shiver all over her body. Feeling warmth on her arm, she turned to see Shuyin's hand gently resting on it. But instead of pulling away, she just stood there, not sure exactly what it was she was feeling. Did she WANT Shuyin touch her? But what about Tidus? He mind screamed at her a million things at once.

_Don't touch me…_ was the one clear thought that came rushing to the surface. At that moment, Shuyin spun her around and wrapped his arms over her. Lights flew from her body as a strange feeling spread though her. She liked this! These arms felt familiar to her.

But he wasn't Tidus, this want him. But then why was she enjoying being in his arms so much? Shuyin pulled gently away with his hands on her shoulders. He looked into her eyes with a stare that made her knees weak. _Whose feelings are these? Lenne's? Mine?_ Shuyin hugged her again.

They stayed this way for a long time. Yuna never returned the embrace, but she was fighting not to. Something inside her was screaming at her to hold him because it was going to be the last time, but what did she care, right? This wasn't who she wanted to hold. She wanted Tidus, and this was NOT him.

She was puled from her thoughts as a warm hand brushed across her face, gently cupping her chin, Shuyin tilted it upwards. Yuna, still completely confused, didn't resist as Shuyin bent down and pushed his lips against hers. They we soft just like Tidus', but more forceful. They pressed down on her and she felt his tongue move from inside his mouth to caress her mouth, begging Yuna to deepen the kiss. From somewhere deep inside, a voice told her not to, but there was another voice, a more urgent one, telling her this was the last time she would see him…

She opened her mouth and kissed him back passionately. Shuyin seemed taken aback by this, but soon regained control. Running his hands all over her body, Shuyin had distracted Yuna enough to coax her to the ground. They lay now on the flowers, Shuyin on top, and Yuna pressed tightly beneath him.

Within a few minutes, both were minus their clothes and Shuyin was positioned above Yuna, ready to take her.

Yuna looked up at him. His face was so much like Tidus' and yet so different. She knew this wasn't Tidus, why was she doing this? At least Shuyin thought she was Lenne. It wasn't like he was cheating anyway. Lenne had disappeared, but he thought she was Lenne. Whereas Yuna was doing this even though she knew this wasn't Tidus. Why? Why was she doing this?

All thoughts left her mind as she suddenly felt a wave of pleasure shoot though her. Shuyin was easing himself into her repeatedly. It felt awesome; Yuna never wanted this feeling to end… _But he's not Tidus, and I'm not Lenne…_

"Shuyin, I'm not…" She began, but Shuyin shook his head as he continued to thrust and Yuna continued to pant in pleasure. He brought a finger up and placed it on her lips. Bending his head down, he placed his lips near her ear.

"That's ok. I know who you are…" Yuna couldn't contain her pleasure anymore, as she reached her climax, she ground her hips against Shuyin as if to push him deeper inside. Mid climax, Shuyin finished his sentence. "I know who you are…Yuna."

Yuna's eyes flashed open. She sat up instantly and put her head in her hands. Even her familiar bedroom surroundings seemed to scold her.

"What a nightmare…" She whispered to herself. _But… If it was a nightmare…Why did I enjoy it so much…?_

_A/N: Oh ohhhhhh…. Heh. I know I stole a scene in there, but that's what I do. Obviously I don't own it. I think everyone here knows that. Hence the word 'FAN' fiction. Heh. Ok pls review and let me know what u think! More interesting-ness to come!_


	19. Bee in Your Bonnet?

_A/N: GOMEN! This took me so long… I've been doing so much. Live in japan is pretty hectic… And I have had so many wonderful reviews! Thank-you all so much! Wow, almost 100! I feel so special! Maybe Ill do something special for the centential! Lol. Neways Sorry its late and I hope you all like it. Please don't hate me?_

**.:How Can I Not Love You:.**

After having a long shower and getting dressed, walking slowly down the stairs, Yuna couldn't get her thoughts off her dream. She was so confused. What on earth had made her dream about Shuyin? And like _that_? She wasn't one to take a lot of notice of dreams, but they had to come from somewhere, right? Why had he called her Lenne and then Yuna? Damn, her mind was doing crazy things to her.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Rikku waved a hand in front of Yuna's face.

"Rikku, it is entirely to early in the morning for you to be so cheery." Paine commented from the table.

"I'm sorry. Just day-dreaming I guess." Yuna silently began to make some toast and a cup of tea.

"A gill for your thoughts." Rikku asked as Yuna sat at the table with her breakfast.

"Huh? Oh… I just… Had a crazy dream last night, that's all." She took a bite of her toast.

"That's it? U can't just leave it at that. You have to tell us what the dream was about!" Rikku whinged.

"She's right you know, Yuna. You can't tell someone you had a crazy dream and then not tell them what it was about." Yuna blushed and tried to hide her face behind her teacup.

"Ohhhhhh!" Rikku giggled and bounced in her seat, "It was THAT kind of dream! Oh, now you HAVE to tell us!"

"You're only without Tidus for one night and already you're having kinky dreams about him?" Paine grinned.

Yuna blushed more crimson. "It wasn't Tidus, it was…" Yuna began and looked at her friends, both of whom, even thought they were both in the middle of breakfast, looked like hungry animals about to be fed. "It was… Shuyin…"

As she said it, Rikku choked on a mouthful of cereal in laughter, spitting milk and cornflakes all over the table. Paine, who was mid sip of her coffee, snorted into it, trying her best not to spill the hot liquid into her lap.

"Oh come on you two, its not like I can control my dreams!" Yuna protested.

"Yes, but…" Paine began, not sure how to finish without bursting into laughter.

"BUT SHUYIN? You had a wet dream about your boyfriend's twin? Damn girl, that's some Jerry Springer shit right there!" Rikku did her best 'go-Jerry' dance and made Yuna blush more.

"Only half of it was… that kind of dream. The other half was just, well… odd. He was talking about the world being a horrible place and how Seymour was going to change all that… I was actually really scared…" Yuna sipped her tea.

"Yeah that was until he started with the bump and grind!"

"Rikku! I'm serious. The way he was talking, it was scary!" Yuna put her cup down.

"As much as Rikku's comments are amusing, she makes a good point. It was just a dream. If he's scary one minute then humping your brains out the next, you should hardly take any notice of it." Paine finished her breakfast and started to clean her mess.

"Well maybe I should tell Tidus about it…" Yuna began, only to get death-stares from both other girls. "Ok ok…" she looked defeated. "It was just so… real."

"You just have sex on the brain, girl!" Rikku piped up.

Yuna sighed. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea telling the others.

"Well. I'd better get going. Don't want to be late to class." She began cleaning her breakfast dishes.

"Do you want a lift? Baralai's coming round in about an hour."

"Thanks all the same, Paine, but I think I'll walk."

"Try not to get run over this time!"

"I wasn't trying last time, Rikku." Yuna laughed as she grabbed her stuff and walked out the front door.

The day passed uneventfully. In fact Yuna was so thoroughly bored in all her classes, she spent the whole day wondering what Tidus was doing. As she began the slow walk home, her thoughts still lingered on Tidus. She pressed the earphones to her mp3 player into her ears and clicked the play button. Music was her one escape. She was always able to lose herself in a good song. Being a writer herself, she was constantly wondering what the writers of other song were thinking when they wrote them.

When the music played into her ears, the song that had been randomly chosen was Birdhouse in Your Soul by They Might be Giants. She laughed at the lyrics about a little blue canary night-light. "Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet…" she quietly sang along with the song. What had these guys been smoking? She wondered.

She was about halfway home, humming and walking in time to whatever song was playing at the time when she looked up as she went to cross a road. On the other side of the small residential street was an all-too-familiar motorbike; the rider still sitting in the seat. His helmet was off, and his blonde hair gently wafted to and fro in the breeze.

Yuna's heart leapt into her throat. Surely she could have a moment with him here. Rikku and Paine would never know! She jogged across the quiet street, pulling the earphones out of her ear and tucking them away into her bag. She tiptoed up behind him, and before he had a chance to hear her, she threw her arms around his shoulders.

"Hey stranger!" she said happily into his hair.

"Lenne?" Tidus turned around and it wasn't till she looked up at him that she realised that it wasn't Tidus at all. Shuyin stared down at her like she had just silently slipped a knife into his belly. "You're not Lenne…"

"Oh my! Shuyin!" Yuna leapt back, tripping on the sidewalk and falling rather heavily onto her bum. "I'm so sorry, I thought you were Tidus, it's just that you're on his bike, and from behind you two look…" Yuna bumbled out a list or excuses, but the shocked look had slipped from Shuyin's face, to be replaced by a friendly smile.

Lifting himself off the bike, he stepped towards Yuna, who quickly shut her mouth.

"That's completely understandable, Yuna, wasn't it?" She nodded. "Trust me, we used to get it all the time." He extended his hand down to her and she took it, blushing slightly as he pulled her up. "I'm sorry I startled you." He added.

"I'm sorry startled you, too." She blushed a deeper red as she realised he was still holding her. Quickly pulling it away and pretending to brush the dirt from her behind, she noticed that he was holding a map in his other hand.

"Are you lost?" she asked politely, trying to change the subject. Shuyin looked down at the map and smiled then looked back at Yuna.

Yeah, I'm supposed to be picking up Tidus from a job interview. He lent me his bike for the day because I had some … stuff… to do."

Yuna noted his hesitation at the 'stuff' he had to do, but she was more interested in what he had said about Tidus.

"Tidus has a job interview?" she asked.

"He didn't tell you? Oh that's right…" he gave a small laugh, "You guys are in trouble…"

"Kinda… oh, but where are you trying to get to? Maybe I can direct you."

"You know, it's so stupid. I dropped him off there, and now I can't find the place. I'm miles away, I know, but I can't remember what route to take… It's a bar called the Celsius."

"What? He has an interview at the Cel?" The shock evident on her face.

"Why? Is that strange?"

"No it's just that my band and I just got a permanent gig there. That sneak!"

"Well he's known about it for some time now, so if he didn't tell you, he probably wanted it to be a surprise if he got the job. Please don't tell him I told you…" Shuyin looked worried. Yuna laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll act totally surprised." She smiled. Shuyin didn't seem that bad. She knew that Tidus had told her about his shady past, but he seemed totally normal now as he returned her smile. Almost… sweet.

Yuna, worried at her thoughts, quickly took to showing Shuyin how to get to the Celsius. It wasn't hard and it only took about five minutes for him to have the way memorised.

"Well, I had better get going. Tidus is already going to be mad that I not only am I late, but that I got to see his little fan-girl." He smiled as he put on his helmet and straddled the bike. Yuna laughed and put her hands on her hips.

"I am not his little fan-girl!" She acted hurt and pouted.

Shuyin nodded and lifted his hand to flip the visa down. With an evil-looking smirk that seemed oddly at home on his face he added, "That's ok. I know who you are, Yuna" and with that, he flipped it down, started the bike, and took off down the street, leaving Yuna with the craziest crimson blush on her face and her eyes as wide as saucers.

_There's no way… The exact words from my dream… Something's not right here…_ She thought to herself as she stood silently on the footpath.

----------------------------------------------

She had decided not to tell the girls about seeing Shuyin. She didn't want to complicate things even more. The next day passed with even less excitement. Yuna spent the whole day counting the hours until she knew Tidus would call her phone when the 'punishment' was up.

The evening dragged on and Paine and Rikku were getting sick of Yuna's fidgeting. Every ten minutes she would look at the clock and sigh.

"Oh sweet merciful crap, Yuna, just call him already!" Rikku finally grumbled after what seemed like the millionth sigh.

"She's right. If you sigh once more I think I'm going to have to break something… like the clock…" Paine added.

"Really? You mean it?"

"Yes!" Both girls said in unison.

Yuna squealed like a teen and grabbed her mobile from the coffee table. She pressed the speed dial number she had programmed in while waiting for him to call her. Impatiently she tapped her fingers on the table as the line on the other end rang. And rang… And rang… he face grew concerned when a female voice answered the other end of the line.

"The person you are trying to call is busy and might not know you've called. To leave e return number, simply follow the prompts after the tone. Charges will be applied after the tone…" Yuna hung up and looked at Rikku and Paine.

"Message bank…" She said in response to their silent question. She pressed the redial button, but still no answer. "Where could he be?" Again she tried but still no answer.

"Give it half an hour. Maybe he's having dinner…" Rikku tried to comfort Yuna. Yuna furrowed her brows and tried once more.

"Damn it, where is he!" She threw her phone onto the sofa in frustration.

Yuna waited all night for his call, and tried calling him repeatedly herself. Paine and Rikku had gone to bed and she was laying in hers, staring at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep even though it was almost 3:30am. Suddenly her room was illuminated by the bright glow from her phone and her message tone sounded.

Leaping to grab it she jumped back into bed and flipped it open, reading the SMS.

_Yuna. so sorry. was going 2 call but wasnt sure if u were awake. I was work! Yeah I got a job! I was going 2 call b4 I stated but didn't want 2 get u in trouble. I will call u 2morrow aftanoon. Luv u –T_

She clutched the phone to her chest. So he hadn't forgotten. Relief filled her and she slowly drifted to sleep. This time she didn't dream.

--------------------------

Yuna finished her classes at 2pm and as promised, Tidus called at about 3. They talked for about an hour before Rikku knocked on her door and come in.

"Yunie I hate to interrupt, but we gotta get some practice in. You remember we have to play at the Cel tomorrow…"

"Oh yeah. Hey Tidus, do u wanna come to our gig tomorrow night?" Yuna asked into the phone as Rikku rolled her eyes and left the room.

"Well I'd love to but I gotta work… I'm sorry!"

"Hey that's right! I didn't ask you where you got the job!" Secretly it was because she had a pretty good idea where, but she didn't want to get Shuyin in trouble.

"Uh… it's a secret…" Tidus said, and Yuna found it hard not to giggle because she knew that he would probably get to see her show tomorrow even if he was working. Unless he got a job as an accountant or something, which Yuna highly doubted.

"Um, Ok…" Yuna faked suspicion.

"I'll tell you tomorrow I promise."

"Ok, well I had better go before Rikku and Paine ban me from seeing you again…" they both laughed.

"Ok. Ill see, uh, talk to you tomorrow."

"Ok, goodnight."

"Night."

Yuna clicked her phone shut and went to practice.

Friday went by and the afternoon arrived. Yuna dressed for the show that night. She decided on her black mini-skirt and blue Singlet. Lacing up the blue arm warmers and clipping on a light blue halfskirt to keep from feeling almost completely naked, she studied herself in the mirror.

"Hmmm." She thought at her reflection. She grabbed a belt from the dresser and fastened it loosely around her waist. She chose her brown boots to go with her outfit and when she was ready doing her hair and make-up, she trotted downstairs to join the others on the way to the Celsius.

"Hows it going, ya?" Wakka greeted them at the back entrance. "I hope u guys are ready for a big night! The crowd's huge!" He helped them unload their stuff and told them they had just under two hours until they were due on stage and if they had time to go and chat with a few of their local fans. As he left to do whatever business he had to do, he winked at Yuna, who pretended like she didn't know why he had done it.

"What was that all about?" Paine asked once he'd left.

"I'm not sposed to know, but I think Tidus has a job behind the bar here."

"What? Since when?" Rikku grabbed Yuna's arm. "That's so cute! The bar bitch dating the lead singer of the band. Of course normally the bar bitch is the girl and the lead singer is the guy, but I think its better this way!" Paine just rolled her eyes.

"Guys, I'm not sposed to know, so that means neither are you, so you have to act surprised, ok?"

"Okilly-Dohkilly!" Rikku chimed, Paine just nodded.

"Ok, lets go mingle so I can FINALLY see my boyfriend." Yuna said as they finished setting up.

Walking into the crowded club, they were immediately recognised and a cheer rose from the dancing people. The three girls smiled and waved. And walked to the bar, receiving pats on the back and wolf whistles from a few of the guys. The other two girls had decided to dress in what they liked to call their 'songstress' outfits, named after Yuna's outfit because they all looked so similar. Paine wasn't to fond of the idea but decided it was better than having Rikku whine at her all night for being a party pooper.

Finally reaching the bar, a few of the patrons made room for them. Looking behind the bar, Yuna noticed the two bar 'bitches' as Rikku called them. One was a girl she knew only by name and reputation as Dona. Apparently a total cow to those who didn't know her. She was, however, civil to the three girls. Yuna had met her boyfriend once; his name was Barthollo, or Bartello or something strange like that. She clearly had him on a leash, but you could tell they loved each other.

The other bar bitch was, in fact, Tidus. The three girls watched him in amusement as he took orders from swooning girls. Yuna was a bit jealous, but he did look pretty sexy in that tight black t-shirt and jeans, baggy at the legs, but tight everywhere that mattered. As they watch, he served a few people and Yuna wondered where he had gotten his bar skills. He made the drinks with a bit of flare and always had the most adorable smile on. _The perfect bar bitch…my perfect bar bitch…_ Yuna thought with a smile.

Placing her elbows on the bar and leaning forward so her cleavage was emphasised, she coughed loudly, put on a deeper accent and called out over the music, "The service in this place is shithouse!" She saw Tidus sigh, knot his brows together and turn to face her, "Listen, buddy, you're not my only…" When he saw Yuna with Paine and Rikku in hysterics behind her, his face went from angry to smug in a second and he finished his sentence, "beautiful girlfriend!"

Yuna gasped dramatically. Then grinned. "Not your only beautiful girlfriend? Oh I'm offended!" She leaned back and put her hand on her hip. Tidus looked her up and down, clearly liking what he saw which made Yuna blush slightly. "I do bet, however, that I am your only beautiful girlfriend who is the lead singer in a popular band."

Tidus pretended to think on this comment then nodded. "Ok you got me." He leaned over the bar and Yuna leaned towards him. Giving her the type of kiss you'd expect after not seeing her for almost 3 full days, he whispered into her ear.

"Hey beautiful. 10 minutes, in the back room." He leaned back and Yuna smiled at him as he smiled at her.

"Hey! Bar bitch! Make with the drinks already!" Rikku slapped the bar and Tidus laughed.

"Coming right up, Bass Bitch!" He winked and clicked his fingers at her. Yuna laughed and even Paine gave a snort of a laugh.

"Hey!" Rikku pouted, which made everyone else laugh more. Rikku was about to launch a stream of abuse at Tidus when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around ready to kill, but squealed when she saw Gippal.

"You made it!" She jumped her boyfriend and then noticed Baralai standing behind him. Still hanging off Gippal, she turned to Paine.

"Dude, I think we need to watch out boyfriends… They are starting to hang out more with each other than with us." Rikku turned to Baralai. "Not that I'd mind a threesome with you, 'Lai, you're damn sexy, I'm just not sure Paine would approve…" She yelped when Paine smacked her across the top of the head.

"Glad you could make it guys!" Yuna added, passing the drinks Tidus had made to Paine and Rikku. "Hate to run but all this smokes getting to me, I'm just gonna sit out the back till its show time." Yuna smiled.

"Ok, don't want that beautiful voice of yours to be tainted!" Rikku said. Paine just gave her a knowing smile.

Taking her drink she made her way to the back room. The same one where she had had her real talk to Tidus. So much had changed since then…

She looked at the clock on the wall. _Still 5 minutes early…_ She thought to herself. She heard the door open and turned to greet Tidus.

"Hey, you're earl…Shuyin?" She stopped when the person standing in the door clearly wasn't Tidus. Although he was the twin, he was wearing different clothes, and he didn't look to well. "Hey…" she greeted him nervously as he walked in and closed the door.

"Did you think you cloud hide from me forever?" He looked at her menacingly and Yuna took a step back.

"What? Shuyin, what are you talking about? I only just met you the other day!" Yuna held her drink tightly in her hand.

"Don't bullshit me, Lenne. You think you can just cut your hair and I wouldn't recognise you?" he took another angry step towards her.

"Shuyin, I'm not Lenne. Its me, Yuna, Tidus' girlfriend…" Yuna took another step backwards.

"Don't mention his fucking name! He has nothing to do with this!" he shouted and walked right up to Yuna, who backed away and suddenly realised she was up against the wall. Yuna could smell the alcohol on his breath and by the way he was moving and talking he was obviously drunk.

"Shuyin, you're drunk… Please, just go home…" Yuna tried to reason with him.

Shuyin suddenly looked unbelievably sad rather than angry as tears lined his reddened eyes. "Don't you understand, Lenne? I have no home without you…"

"Shuyin, I…" Yuna took a step towards him as if to comfort him. All of a sudden, Yuna found herself in Shuyin's arms and his lips pressed against hers. Shocked, she put her hands on his chest and tried to pull away. But he was stronger. He held her tightly and her mind flashed back to her dream. It was trying to tell her something. Damn it! She pushed harder as she heard the door open though her panic.

"I hope you're in here, Beautiful, because I've been waitin…" Tidus stopped in the doorway; Yuna already had tears in her eyes because she knew what this would look like. Shuyin broke the kiss and let go of Yuna, who stumbled back against the wall.

_Dear god, what have I done…_Yuna thought as she tried to talk, to explain to Tidus but no words would come. Shuyin just stood there, a menacing look cast down at the floor.

Tidus said nothing. He didn't need to. Yuna knew exactly what he wanted to say; she knew exactly how he would be feeling. He simply nodded, blinked once, then turned, walked out, and quietly closed the door behind him.

_A/N: um… shit? Lol._


	20. Baralai the Chocobowtf

_A/N:_ _OMG! So many great reviews! I love being told to get my arse into gear and write the next chapter!_ _I had the bulk of this chappy written for a while and just hadnt got around to writting the last few lines... I know I know, Im slack. But here it is! Seeing as the power of christ compelled me, and for fear of being attacked while Im walking down some dark alley... lol. _

_Oh and for those of you wondering why Tidus reacted the way he did... Ive never seen someone walk in and catch there other half cheating, but I have been privy to it myself... more than once, in fact more than a few times, and the first couple of times it happened, I couldnt say anything! Im not sure if you guys are the same, but I was just in suck shock that I couldnt feel anything... Of course the screaming and attacking of silly hoes stealing my boyfriend came later, but right at the moment of discovery I just kinda felt empty... and thats how I protrayed Tidus, because even tho he isnt me, (if I was a guy Id wish I was HIM) I still think this is how he would feel. So now that Ive poured out my heart to a heap of randoms, please to be reading the new chapter.. heh, LOL!_

* * *

It took a minute, but finally Yuna came to her senses.

"Shit!" She cursed uncharacteristically and pushed passed Shuyin, who still hadn't moved. To someone who didn't know any better, he would have looked asleep.

She jerked the door open and looked around for Tidus. Not seeing him out the back she rushed into the crowded club, her eyes darting everywhere, here heart beating at a million miles a second. Not seeing him anywhere, she pushed her way towards the bar where Paine and Rikku were standing, engrossed in conversation with Gippal and Baralai. She glanced at her watch. _Bugger, only 45 minutes until we have to be on stage…_ She thought to herself.

Ignoring the concerned looks she was getting from people wondering why there were tears streaming down her cheeks, she finally reached her friends.

"Have you guys seen Tidus?" She asked frantically.

"Jesus, Yuna! What happened?" Paine grabbed her shoulders, immediately ignoring Gippal who was mid-sentence.

"Just… Have you seen Tidus?" Yuna asked louder, ignoring Paine's question.

"Last time we saw him he was heading out back to see you… what happened?" Rikku joining Paine in her concern.

"I… I need to find him… Right now!" She shrugged Paine's hands off her and leaned over the bar. "Dona, have you seen Tidus?" interrupting her serving a customer.

"Oh dear… Yes… You know he looked very upset… but then so do you… not that I care about you, but I do care if my fellow employees slack off in their work. What happened?" She put her hand on her hip and without looking at the patron, passed him the drink and took the money.

"Oh for the love of… what is everyone's deal with asking what happened! Just tell me where he is!" She shouted at Dona in frustration and banged her fist hard on the bar, making the surrounding people all turn to look at her.

"Well there's no need to shout, you know…" Dona said patronisingly, as Yuna just glowered at her. "Tch, fine. He came in and asked it he could take his break early. I said that was fine and he went out the back door with his bike helmet."

"How long is his break?" Yuna asked, a little calmer, though still not knowing where he was.

"An hour, now if you'll excuse me, seeing as Tidus isn't here, I don't have time to chat all day…" She turned and continued to serve the customers as Yuna sighed and put her arms on the sticky bar and then plopped her head onto them.

She could hear Paine, Rikku, Baralai and Gippal all trying to talk to her and a few times Rikku tried to pull her head up. But she wasn't going to lose it, not here, not in front of everyone. All she had to do was continue with the show, wait till Tidus came back, and then explain everything to him. She counted to 10 in her head as she took ten deep breaths, and then turned to face her friends, who were all just standing staring at her.

Holding up her hand to stop all their questions, she spoke. "Before you say anything, let me say everything I have to say. Ok?" She looked at them all and they all nodded silently.

"Ok… Tidus walked in and saw Shuyin kissing me." She held up her hand again as she saw Rikku's mouth open. "Notice I said _Shuyin _kissing _me_. He was drunk and he kept calling me Lenne. Then he cornered me against the wall and kissed me. I tried to push him off and that's when Tidus walked in. I think you all know I wouldn't kiss Shuyin, even if I did have a sex dream about him, but Tidus left and I didn't have time to explain. So I just have to wait until he comes back and explain it all."

They all stood there silent, not exactly sure what to say. Finally Paine nodded in understanding, Rikku smiled in a 'that-sucks-dude-but-I-understand' kind of way, Baralai nodded as well and looked at Gippal who had a confused look on his face. This made everyone look at him. As they watched him his face went from confused to 'oh my god'.

"Hey… Whoa… uh, back it up a bit… You had a sex dream about your boyfriend's twin brother?" he was finding it difficult not to laugh. Everyone just rolled their eyes and Rikku smacked the back of his head.

"So where's Shuyin? I wouldn't mind having a word with him." Paine gave Yuna a serious look.

"Why's he even here?" Rikku put her hands on her hips.

"Uh duh, because he Tidus' brother and Tidus has a job here?" now it was Gippal's turn to roll his eyes at Rikku, she smacked the back of his head again. "Ya know, that's really starting to smart, Rikku…" He grumbled, as he rubbed his head and glared at his girlfriend.

"He was in the back room. But I doubt he's still there, or if he is, he's probably passed out. He was really drunk. Paine, don't get to worked up about it. I'll talk to him when he's sober. He probably wont even remember it…" Yuna said as she took Rikku's drink out of her hand and downed the whole thing.

"Hey! That was my drink!"

"You know your being very calm about all this, Yuna… it's not like you… normally you'd be all… emotional…" Gippal voiced what everyone was thinking.

"Yeah I know… I just… I've had enough of all this…" She waved her hand around in the air nonchalantly. "All this… crap. If I keep making everything so complicated I'll end up pushing away the people I love. The person who should be here isn't...The one who should be smiling with me isn't here. 'I don't need anyone.' Always 'I don't need anyone'. Those were my magic words. I repeated them to myself again and again. But you know… The magic never worked. The only thing I'm left with is regret. I don't want that anymore. So I'm going to be rational." She nodded in self-determination.

"You have a plan?" Baralai asked.

"Beg for forgiveness?" Paine crossed her arms and grinned at Yuna.

"That's plan B… But before that… Hey Rikku… Do you mind if we change tonight's play list around a bit?" Yuna looked from Paine to Rikku, then back to Paine.

"Uh, yeah… Uh... maybe?" Rikku put her hand to her mouth as she thought. "But we haven't practiced other songs…"

"You never used to be the think-before-you-act type… What gives?" Gippal put his arm around his girlfriend. "Of course you guys can play new songs! Abso-posi-you better believe it! Wanna know why?"

"Cause we're YRP!" Rikku punches the air excitedly.

"Right, ok guys. Heres the plan…" They talked about things for about 20 mins and by then it was time for them to make their way onto stage.

Because it was nearly time for their performance, the club had become even more crowded with people wanting to see the new permanent gig the Cel had hired. News had gone around that their last performance here had been a knock out. Yuna knew that Tidus would be really busy behind the bar when he came back so between their first 3 sets, her and the girls went to one of the other bars, while Gippal and Baralai went to talk to Tidus. They weren't going to mention anything about Yuna and if Tidus asked they were going to say that they had seen her and she looked upset but that the girls had got mad at her and made her promise to put on a good show. And at the start of the 4th and last set, they told him that he should probably watch it, as the girls were awesome tonight.

"I'll try." Tidus had replied, and they could tell that they had tweaked his curiosity. As the girls came on stage for the last time, Yuna looked over at Gippal and he gave her the thumbs up.

Stepping up to the microphone, Yuna coughed softly to quieten the yelling crowd. Her eyes darted towards the bar Tidus was working behind. For a split second, their eyes met. Yuna didn't look away, but Tidus did. Instantly.

"Ok. This is our last set for the night." Yuna called into the mic. The crowd booed but Yuna held up her hand and they quietened down. "I know, just when everyone's getting so drunk that we don't sound so bad…" Yuna laughed at everyone cheering. "Well, It's not something I would usually do, but I'm going to tell you all a little bit about my personal life…" Yuna looked fully at Tidus this time whose head snapped up to look at Yuna when he realised that half the club was looking in his direction and wolf-whistling. " Wait! Its not what you think!" Yuna spoke seriously into the microphone to the crowd. "Tonight something happened that shouldn't have, I can't take it back, and I hurt someone I care about very much…" Tidus looked away now, hurt drenching his face. "I just want him to know exactly how I feel and him to give me a change to explain after the set." She still hadn't stopped looking at him and he looked back at her now with a blank look on his face. She hoped that meant yes.

Rikku stepped up to her mic. "So its for this reason that the girls and I have decided to dedicate this whole set to a certain special bar-bitch over there…" She pointed to Tidus and Dona's bar, "and we all know I'm not talking about Dona!" The crowd laughed and a few laughers squealed when Dona squirted them with icy water from the postmix gun.

"This is for you, Tidus." Yuna said, then nodded at Paine as she counted them in.

_Today's the day you're leaving and tomorrow you'll be gone. You're in my heart and on my mind, I will bring you along. Everything sucks when you're gone; everything sucks when you're gone…_

Yuna looked over at Tidus when they finished the first song. He was serving a girl but she had been listening to the song as well and turned to face Tidus when Yuna looked purposefully at him. He still just looked at her blankly as she turned back to the crowd and announced the next song.

_T__his could be the one last chance to make you understand…I'd do anything just to hold you in my arms; to try to make you laugh. Somehow I can't put you in the past… I'd do anything just to fall asleep with you. Will you remember me? 'Cuz I know I won't forget you…_

Tidus was now clearly watching Yuna sing. He was learning on the doorframe at back of the bar, clearly not serving people. Dona looked pissed but when Yuna smiled at her apologetically, she just rolled her eyes, smiled and shook her head. Yuna turned to Rikku and Paine who both nodded at her and smiled.

_I tear my heart open; I sew myself shut. My weakness is that I care too much and my scars remind me that the past is real. I tear my heart open just to feel…_

Before Yuna could speak, Rikku jumped at her microphone. "Ok this one wasn't planned by Yuna, but Paine and I recon we should play it anyway. I thought it over a bit and changed the lyrics so bare with me, ok!" Rikku grinned as she whispered the song she wanted Yuna to play. She gave Rikku a confused look but nodded in agreement.

The crowd was reasonably quiet in anticipation and suddenly Gippal could be heard shouting over everyone. "Oh my god, cover your ears! Rikku's gonna sing!" The whole crowd laughed and looked at Rikku as the girls and their boyfriends were well known by many of the club-goers. Rikku pouted and put on a sickening sweet voice.

"Oh babe, saying things like that makes me want to tell everyone that you sleep with chocobo plushie you call Baralai…" Rikku smiled innocently as everyone laughed harder.

"He what?" Paine asked behind her and glared at her boyfriend, who in turn gave a –I-have-no-clue-what-she's-talking-about- look to her and then glared at Gippal who went crimson-faced, which in turn made Baralai go bright red, which actually made Dona laugh.

Yuna looked from Dona to Tidus who was shaking, trying to keep the laughter in. When he realised Yuna was looking at him, Tidus coughed and pressed his lips together in a desperate attempt to look indifferent, but burst into hysterics when he glanced at Gippal and Baralai who were now in a heated argument as to why Gippal felt the need to a) sleep with a stuffed animal, b) name said stuffed animal 'Baralai' and c) if he had to name anything Baralai, why couldn't it be something a bit more manly than a squishy yellow chicken-type creature.

Yuna smiled now and it warmed her heart to see Tidus smile. She hoped this was a good sign.

"Lets just get on with the song. We'll deal with Gay-ppal and Choco-lai later…" Paine said into her mic. The crowd cheered. And Rikku sang…

_If you could only see the way she loves you then maybe you would understand why she feels this way about your love and what she must do. If you could only see how blue her eyes can be when she says… when she says she loves you…_

As they played, tears welled in Yuna's eyes. She glanced at Rikku, while strumming mindlessly on her guitar, who smiled back at her as she sang, understanding the silent thankyou Yuna was trying to say to her.

_If you could only see how blue her eyes can be when she says… when she says she loves you…_

When the song finished, the crowd went wild as Rikku bowed, not one to be modest. Rikku glanced at Tidus who smiled sadly at her and then found something interesting to stare at on the floor rather than deal with how he was feeling.

"This is an old song we put a little twist on…" Yuna said to the crowd as she began to play the first bars of the next song.

_When the night has come, and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light we'll see. I won't cry, no I wont cry, no I wont shed a tear just as long as you fucking stand by me…So darling, darling… stand by me, oh wont you stand by me, oh wont you stand, wont you stand, stand by me…_

"Ok well this is going to be our last song, guys." Rikku announced only to be booed. "Seriously, you all need drink more, then go home to bed…" She joked.

Yuna opened her mouth to say something to Tidus, but closed when he smiled forlornly at her. She knew he was listening.

_I wish that I could cry, fall upon my knees, find a way to lie about a home I'll never see. It may sound absurd...but don't be naïve; even heroes have the right to bleed  
I may be disturbed...but won't you concede… Even heroes have the right to dream. It's not easy to be me. Up, up and away...away from me. It's all right...you can all sleep sound tonight. I'm not crazy...or anything..._

Yuna had tears running down her cheeks as she finished the song even though she'd sung it perfectly she could feel her composure slipping as she began to think about what she could lose if Tidus didn't give her a chance to explain. She looked at him with pleading eyes.

_It's not easy… to be… me…_

The crowd cheered once more as the curtains closed and the DJ started the music once more, but Yuna heard none of this. She looked blankly around her as tears continued to trickle down her face and collapsed to her hands and knees, hanging her head.

Rikku quickly put her guitar down and raced to kneel beside her and Paine got up and stood behind them. Rikku gave her a concerned look and then focused her attention back on Yuna.

"Yuna…" Paine started

"I'm ok, it's passed now…" Yuna tried to convince then, but neither Paine nor Rikku believe her. Paine turned around when she saw a movement out of the corner of her eye.

Tidus stood there looking sheepish and scratched the back of his head. Paine walked over to Rikku and grabbed her arm, pulling her away from Yuna.

"Hey! What's the big ide….Oooh…" Rikku touched her nose twice and winked at Tidus then turned to Yuna and whispered, "good luck!" Yuna looked at her questioningly as she hadn't seen Tidus yet. Rikku pointed Tidus and Yuna looked up from where she sat on the floor, her guitar still over her shoulder and turned to face him.

"Thanks guys…" Tidus said nervously as he avoided eye contact with them as they made their way out into the club.

Tidus sat down beside Yuna, facing her. Neither said anything for a while. The music from the club caused a vibration to course through the stage and it was almost hypnotising. Yuna stared down at her skirt; the black lace had suddenly become very interesting, seeing as she didn't know where to begin explaining things to Tidus. She'd had it all planned in her head. Down to the very last word. But now that he was sitting there beside her, looking at her, so close she could almost feel his warm breath, all thoughts left her.

She flinched slightly in surprise as warm fingers brushed against her cheek, then pushed a stray bang of hair behind her ear. Yuna lifted her head in time to see Tidus put his hand back in his lap. She looked from his hand to his face and he smiled at her.

"I, uh, had a little… chat… to Shuyin in my break…" he began.

Yuna looked away. "Oh Tidus I'm so sorry! It really wasn't what it looked like! I was waiting for you when he came in… he started talking about… and then he... and then I… and then you… and then…" she babbled as she tried to explain and hold back the tears at the same time, only to be interrupted by three fingers being placed tenderly on her lips.

"Yuna… its ok. My brother is such an idiot sometimes. He was so drunk. I found him in the back alley almost passed out… he kept mumbling about Lenne and how I'd stolen her and that he'd take her back… Took me about half an hour but I managed to get him into a taxi out the front and sent him back to his hotel…"

"So your not angry at me?" Yuna asked and looked back at Tidus hopefully. He smiled and shook his head.

"Not since I came back from my break. I knew it wasn't your fault." Yuna couldn't help but beam a smile as she quickly threw her guitar from over her shoulder and leapt at Tidus from her seated position next to him, taking him by surprise and knocking him over to the floor.

Almost on to of him, her hair tickling his cheeks, she leaned down and kissed him like she hadn't seen him for a lifetime.

"Although, try not to scare me like that again, it felt like you'd ripped my heart out, eaten it raw, spewed it up then crapped on it…" he laughed as she pulled a sour face at the cannibalistic image she had involuntarily imagined.

"So you knew, and yet you let me announce to the whole club I was an idiot and Rikku even sang! She's going to be so angry when she finds out…" Yuna laughed. Normaly she would be angry that he had let her look like a fool in front of so many people, but she was just so happy that he wasn't angry at her that she couldn't be mad at him. "Wait, what about Gippal and Baralai?"

"Well..." Tidus grinned... "I told them, but Gippal insisted I say nothing to you guys. He said something about wanting to see his woman sing. At first I thought he was talking about you, and, I have to admit, I got kinda jealous… but then when Rikku announced she was going to sing I understood. Baralai was against it, and after that chocobo comment, he's probably fuming!"

It was at that moment that Gippal burst onto the darkened stage behind the thick curtains, a look of absolute terror on his face.

"Oh thank Christ I found you guys! You have to help me I think they are going to kill me!" Gippal spoke so quickly it to a moment for Yuna and Tidus to process what he had said.

"Gippal slow down, start at the beginning." Yuna said as she tried to discreetly get of Tidus, seeing as Gippal didn't seem to notice the position they were in.

"Ok, so when you guys finished, Paine and Rikku came to talk to us and Baralai let it slip that we knew you knew what Yuna didn't know and now Rikku wants to kill me for making her sing on stage, Baralai wants to kill me for having a chocobo named after him, Paine wants to kill me for both reasons I just said plus the fact that I let you get upset and didn't tell you straight away that Tidus wasn't angry and that we let you be upset and I'm so sorry and I didn't mean to make you cry and all that stuff I just wanted to hear Rikku sing and….." Gippal had to stop to finally take a breath as he was beginning to go blue in the face.

Yuna laughed, "That's alright Gippal I don't mind. Everything is sorted now so there's nothing to worry about" Yuna smiled genuinely and Gippal visibly relaxed.

Then Rikku stormed into view, followed by a very angry looking Paine and a livid Baralai. " 'Nothing to worry' about my bloody foot!"

* * *

_A/N: Kinda longish I spose. I dint want Tidus and Yuna to be apart for to long otherwise thered be no story! haha. but dont worry, more Shuyin-shanannigans to come..._

_Oh and the songs I stole exerts from were, in order: _MXPX_ - _Everything Sucks When You're Gone, Simple Plan - Id Do Anything, Papa Roach - Scars, Tonic - If You Could Only See, NoFX - Stand By Me Remake, Five For Fighting - Superman ... _Obviously I dont own them... Duh..._


	21. That Went Well

_A/N: Oh My god! I'm so sorry! I haven't updated in so long! I'd surprised if every stopped reading this! But I do have reasons! First of all, my computer died. I did actually have most of this chapter written but then I lost everything! Ahhh so annoyed! On top of that I went on a Snowboarding holiday with friends! Then I didn't have the motivation to write the whole thing again. But since I'm still getting such wonderful reviews I thought I had better get a wriggle on! Anyways, I'm really sorry and I know I say this every time, but Ill try to update faster! Gomen ne? _

.:How Can I Not Love You:.

Rikku glared at Gippal with her hands on her hips.

"You're in big bloody trouble, buddy!" She yelled and pointed her finger at him. Tidus laughed.

"Try saying that 5 times fast!" He whispered to Yuna who giggled back.

"This isn't funny you guys!" Rikku turned her anger towards Tidus and Yuna who both promptly shut their mouths and both stood up slowly.

That was when Baralai and Paine joined the scene. Paine looked angrily at Gippal while Baralai just blinked at him.

"Now just wait a god damn second here! Why is everyone hating on me! I wasn't the only one in on this little scheme!" He gestured to Tidus and Baralai. "They knew as well!"

"Yes but if you remember, I was against it from the start! I knew it would end up this way. But you wouldn't listen." Baralai crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Well you didn't try very hard to stop me! And Tidus didn't do anything either…!"

"Hey, man. Don't bring me into this… I just got outta a shit fight… I don't need another one!" Tidus laughed and defensively held his hands up. Gippal just rolled his eyes.

"Well you're sposed to be my friend, Baralai! What ever happened to the whole code of friendship thing!" Gippal pointed at Baralai angrily and held his ground. He was getting angry now. It didn't help that he had had a few too many drinks.

"The _code_ went out the damn window when Rikku announced to the whole damn club that u had a damned stuffed animal named after me! Its damn weird and now I'm getting weird looks from people!" Baralai, suddenly angry as well, growled at Gippal, swearing uncharacteristically.

"You don't think I'm angry about that as well?" He glowered at Rikku who looked away slightly then remembered she was supposed to be angry at him and glared back again. Gippal looked back at Baralai. "But it's nice to know where we stand." He spat out. "Nice to know you'll be there for me… _buddy._"

"Oh for the love of… Gippal, don't be such a girl!" Baralai rolled his eyes angrily.

"Hey!" All three girls said angrily at once.

"Oh you know what I mean. It's just… Gippal, I'm a bit weirded out, ok? I mean, in the name of all things that are good in this world…. You have a stuffed chocobo named after me!" Baralai tried to express just how strange he was feeling but it wasn't coming out right.

"So what? You think just coz I named a stuffed animal after you that makes me gay or something? My fucking girlfriend is standing right there dude!" He pointed at Rikku without taking his eyes from Baralai. "Not that there's anything wrong with being gay… But I'm not. Fuck man, you're my best friend. If it's ok for girls to do it, why the fuck can't I?"

Baralai thought on this. There really wasn't anything wrong with it, and he supposed that Gippal was feeling equally as embarrassed as he was, if not more. Having not said anything for a time, Gippal took it that he was still angry.

"Fuck this. I'm outta here." He turned to Yuna and Tidus, who had been standing watching the argument unfold with wide eyes and open mouths, told them he was glad they were all ok again and promptly stormed towards to back door.

Rikku, who was still angry at him, scoffed. "Good riddance!" She yelled after him and stormed back out into the club mumbling something about needing a good, stiff drink.

"Well… That went well…" Paine spoke for the first time. "But Gippal's right. I'm happy that everything is ok with you two." She said to Yuna and Tidus.

"Thanks, Paine… But what about Rikku and Gippal?"

Baralai sighed. "I'll get Gippal. I think we have a fair bit to talk about anyway. I'll drive him home." He looked at Paine. "I'll see you tomorrow." He gently took her and squeezed it, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"Are you ok to drive?" Tidus asked

"Yeah I only had 1 drink. I'm glad you two are ok. Ill probably see you tomorrow as well." He nodded his goodbyes and walked out of the club in search of Gippal.

"Well. I should probably go and find Rikku before she drinks herself unconscious. What will you guys do?"

Yuna looked at Tidus. "I'm a little worn out. I think I just want to go home…" She said as she looked to Paine.

"I still have a few more hours left… I've kinda slacked off a bit today…" He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"That's ok, Ill just catch a taxi home. When you're finished, come round to our place, ok? The spare key is in the pot near the door."

"Ok. I'll see you in the morning." He gave Yuna a passionate kiss and walked back into the club with Paine after she had said goodbye to Yuna. Yuna sighed to herself and walked out the back door and made her way to the front of the building to catch a taxi.

On her way to the front of the club, Yuna heard a girl talking. She was walking down a side alley and it was dark so she couldn't see the person clearly. The girl was squatting down, leaning against the wall, talking on her mobile phone.

"But I didn't do anything wrong! I don't understand. Cant we just talk about this?" The girl paused as the person on the other end of the phone replied. Yuna thought the voice sounded somewhat familiar. By now the girl was in tears. Yuna stopped walking and stood quietly, listening. "Please. Don't be angry at me. I didn't do anything! … You what? … No, I'm not angry! I'm scared! I don't want you to hurt me… But that other girl… Can I at least know her name? … No I won't say a word to her! I promise!" The girl was sobbing but Yuna could tell she was frightened. Then Yuna heard something she didn't expect. "Seymour! Please!" The girl begged. But he had hung up. She flipped her phone closed and began to cry.

Yuna quickly walked up to her, making sure she made noise so as not to startle her.

"Hey" She said softly. "Are you alright?"

The girl wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she tucked her phone into her bag. She still hadn't looked up.

"I'm fine, thank you." She said as she stood up.

"You don't look fine…" Yuna said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I said I'm fine, its just boyfri…" The girl now looked up and saw Yuna's face. "Hey! Its you!" She stopped crying and wiped her eyes again. "Yuna, isn't it?"

"Yes." She smiled at the girl. Suddenly she jumped at Yuna, hugging her tightly around the waist. Yuna, stunned at first, put her arms around the small girl.

"I'm so scared, Yuna…" she began to cry again and Yuna gently stroked her hair.

"Trust me I know how you feel…"

They stood in silence for a few minutes until the girl stopped crying. Yuna gently took hold of the girl's shoulders and looked at her. "Maybe you should go home… you look like you could do with a good nights sleep."

"I … I can't go home… He might be there…" She looked to the ground as if ashamed of being afraid.

"Well, you could come back to our place. The girls definitely won't mind!" She said supportively.

"Really?" Yuna gave a nod.

"As long as you don't mind sleeping on the couch!" She smiled and the girls gave a small smile back. "Oh and I have to catch a taxi. My boyfriend is working late."

"That's ok! As long as I don't have to go home. Not tonight at least."

"Alright then, let's go!" Yuna said enthusiastically. She felt so sorry for this poor girl. She wanted desperately to ask her what happened, but she didn't want to pry into a strangers business. If she wanted Yuna to know, she would tell her when she was ready.

"Oh, my name is Calli, by the way." The girl introduced herself.

"It's nice to meet you, Calli!" Yuna turned and shook her hand with a friendly smile, then they both continued to the taxi rank.

The two girls arrived at Yuna's house and made their way inside. On their way in, Yuna checked to make sure the spare key was where she had said it was.

Once inside, Yuna went to the kitchen. "Would you like a cup of coffee or tea?"

"I'd love a tea, thank-you! Do you want some help?"

"No I'm ok. How do you have your tea?"

"White with two, thanks." Yuna laughed. "What?" Calli asked.

"White with two. Same as me!" She smiled and Calli laughed softly.

"I guess we have more than Seymour in common then!" Suddenly Calli's face went forlorn. Yuna handed Calli her tea and they both sat in the lounge room. They sat in silence for a few minutes and sipped their drinks.

"He broke up with me…" Calli said after a while.

"Oh I'm sorry… You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to…" Yuna didn't want to make the poor girl feel upset again.

"No, its ok. I want too. I feel like I have to tell someone, and you understand, I spose…" Yuna nodded.

"Did he say why?"

Calli nodded now. " He said he had found someone else… I suppose I should be thankful he didn't just cheat on me… Although, maybe he did. I don't know why I'm so upset. He was always just a jerk…" She stared into her tea. Something told Yuna that Calli didn't know the full story behind what had happened between herself and Seymour. And she wasn't about to tell her, not while she was like this anyway.

"Did he tell you the other girl's name? Maybe we could talk to her?"

"I promised Seymour I wouldn't talk to her… I wouldn't want him to find out that Id gone behind his back and spoken to her…"

"Yeah… I suppose not. So what was her name?"

Yuna almost dropped her tea at what Calli replied. _It couldn't possibly be…_

"He said her name was Lenne…"

_A/N: DUN DUN DUUUUUNNNNNN! Lol! Ok well this was a strange chapter. Lots of goings on! I'm not to sure about Gippal and Baralai… I kinda wanted them to have a 'moment' but I dunnno if you guys would have wanted that… If you want to see what happens after Baralai and Gippal leave the club, let me know! And let me know what you want to see! Lol! So that's the story! Things are moving along nicely now.. You know I only just thought of how to end this! A fair way off still, but at least I know where I'm going! Poor Calli. I liked her. I was going to make it Shelinda, but for some reason that chick realllllllly shits me! Lol. I dunno why. Just so… bleh! Maybe Ill have Shelinda in here and randomly fall off a cliff… a cliff in the city… of course… Neways I'm out. R and R!_


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